Carmilla: Trinity
by CatDaddy
Summary: Trinity Clairborn is a fairy. Amongst the world of the supernatural, the fae are the most reclusive what with their natural desire for peace. Very few leave their home, much less travel into the world. But Trinity has always been curious thing. She left home to learn more from humans. She gets more than she expected when she is accepted into Silas University. Follow Trinity and her
1. Origins

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my OC's.

A/N: I also posted this on wattpad under the username S3v3nW0nd3rs, please follow me. Also, remember to review and let me know what you think.

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><p>Chapter One: Origins<p>

Hi. I know that you don't know me but my name is Trinity Clairborn. Well, I guess if you want my full name it's Trinity Ava Clairborn. I've read that it's good to introduce yourself with your name and a firm handshake…but I guess I can't really shake your hand. Okay 1…2…3…and breathe. My apologies, if you haven't notice I'm a little…different. I guess I should start at the beginning, well the _very_ beginning. I can't just start where I really want to and expect you to know what I'm talking about. Unless whoever's reading this actually _knows_ me and if that's the case; you are invading my privacy. I order you to stop reading; if you want to know anything than just _ask_ me. This is for future eyes only. They're the ones that I want to know my story. I'm losing myself again. I gotta get a hang of that.

Okay, so here's what I meant to say; my name is Trinity Clairborn and I'm a fairy. _Yes_, I said it; I'm a fairy. We're not myth. In fact, there are a lot of things in this world that people don't know about. Fairies, dragons, mermaids, vampires, werewolves, basically anything that has been dismissed as myths or stories have a truth at the root of them. I'm a water fairy or sprite as some of us like to be called. It's not very often that we leave our territory which happens to be underwater in the middle of a lake undetected by any and all that have not been welcome or is not a water sprite themselves.

Hardly anyone ever leaves now, especially since the surface world continues to advance. Though we are peaceful, my people have developed a loathing for Grounders; that's what we call people who live on the surface. I've heard that we used to roam freely from place to place, meeting other creatures and learning from them, sharing our cultures with each other. I guess that's how the myths got started. But it's not like that anymore. As time went on, Grounders found themselves in constant conflict with each other and soon their tensions seeped into our world. Soon my people and those like us retreated into our homes, having no wish to take part in or witness the chaos that began. But we were not spared. As time went on, the Grounders came up with new ways to harm each other and though unknowingly, harm us as well.

Luckily for my village, we were unaffected by the danger, for we were not close to it. But many others suffered. Those of us that live in the vast oceans of the world felt the consequences of the Grounders wars. First they would hear booms before what I learned is called a _ship_ would sink, destroying pieces or sometimes _entire_ villages. Fortunately, they were able to find use of the dreaded things and used them for shelter until they could find new homes. But things got worse. Before, all we had to worry about was something sinking, but then the Grounders found a way to survive _under_ water, bringing their weapons with them as well. They had these huge…_machines_ and things that make the ocean tremble when they release them.

Water creatures had to retreat further and further into the depths of the sea which is also a problem. At the very depth and core of the blue waters lie the Beings of the Old World. These creatures prefer to be left alone, living at peace in their solitude. The deeper we're force to move, the more unrest these creatures become. No one knows what will happen if one or _any_ of the creatures begin to rise to the surface and _no one_ is in a hurry to find out.

Not everyone took things lying down though. Not every creature is a peaceful of a race as we are. There were retaliations from fellow beings of the sea. Some lured Grounders with their beauty before dragging them to a watery grave, some fed them to the very creatures that they loved to hunt. These attacks were put to a stop in order to keep our kind a secret. But there were other techniques the creatures of the blue could use. Some creatures, my kind included have special abilities..._gifts_. These gifts were used to attack the Grounders and their strange machines. Some in the name of protection…others in vengeance. Some sea vessels encountered one might say…_accidents_. Accidents that the Grounders couldn't understand, that they couldn't explain. I remember a story that some creatures conspired together when another Grounder war was on the rise. Several groups conspired to use their powers to place glaciers around the borders their territories to keep the Grounders away. One ship traveled too close and met its end. It was called…what is it again? Titornia? Tantitic? The Titanic! Yes, I believe that is what it was called. Anyway, this made the Grounders wary to venture into certain parts of the sea.

But of course some could not help their curiosity. These Grounders are either very brave or very stupid. Either way, venturing anywhere near this territory is a death sentence. The Royal houses, which hold some of the oldest of our kind stay near each other. They have powerful guards who are trained from birth to use their abilities to protect their homes. There are three families, the Cypher's, the Rayne's, and the Clairborn's; they are The Triangle. The Bermuda Triangle to be exact.

Now before you say anything, yes _technically_ I'm a part of a royal family, but _no_ I do not stay with them. Here's the rundown; my mother Vivian Clairborn is the firstborn child of Thesuesius Clairborn. I know what you're thinking; 'why does your mother have such a normal name compared to her father?' Well, grandma Clairborn thought the name was pretty after hearing it screamed by one of the victims who dared tread into their territory. Morbid? Of course it is, but I never claimed to be the _only_ strange one in our family.

Anyway, my mother was in line to be Queen _if_ or _when_ her father decided to step down. But…things didn't really go as planned. You see, every hundred years, the fae gather together for a meeting…a Council of sorts. They call it the Centennial Conclave. We aren't the only fairies out there. Each fairy belongs to an element. Just as we belong to water, there are other fae who belong to earth, fire, and air. There are a lot of others but really they're just branches of the main elements.

Once every century, the King or Queen of a fae holds celebration/meeting, each time being hosted by a different elemental fae. The last meeting was held by Xanulous Tosin, the King of the Earth Fairies. That's where things got difficult. Every fairy has a mate, someone who is meant solely for them, a perfect match. Someone who can care for them, yet challenge them, to learn things from as well as teach, someone who makes you wonder how you survived life without them. For my mother, that person way Alec Waverly. He wasn't someone any of the families found suitable, but who can argue with fate?

My grandfather was hoping that my mother would find her match among someone from home or another Royal. Don't judge, my grandfather isn't some pompous jerk who thinks himself above others, he just knows that my mother would be safe amongst a royal family due to the protection they have. To see his daughter find her mate in an errand boy with no standing whatsoever was basically the equivalent to seeing an iron blade to her heart. He knew that my mother never held any interest in being Queen and if the time came, she would probably pass the right to her younger sister Lucia the first chance she got. He knew in that moment that my mother would not return to their kingdom. That's not to say that she doesn't visit every now and then, but what parent wants to let their child go?

Pairings between fairies of different elements are rare but their children usually hold the power of only one of the elements with the slightest incline to their other parent's element. Like me; my powers are water based but let me tell you, I know my way around a forest. So my mom stayed with dad, leaving all the luxury she was raised with to live in the sparkling crystal blue lake that is my home. Give it several decades or so and soon I'm born! Yay me!

Like my mother held little interest in being a Queen, I held just as little in spending my whole life in our village. I don't hate my home. It's actually quite beautiful, and calm, and peaceful. It's the perfect place for a getaway. The thing is…I've always been interested in the Grounders. Yes I've heard all the horror stories about them but no one seems to think about how before all this tragedy happened, we used to be peaceful with one another. How were tiny little fairies friends with Grounders you ask? Well, we have the ability to change shape. Nothing major, it just allows us to grow a little taller, change the points of our ears, and makes our wings disappear. Not a lot of our kind still use the ability to shift though they are able. To most fae; Grounders=bad news. You get the gist of it.

As a little girl, my favorite thing to do was flying as close I could to the town just outside our territory and watch the humans. There's so many things that they have and do. One day my curiosity got the best of me and I shifted into my 'human' form and walked into one of the buildings. There were shelves full of books, and boxes with shiny screens on it, and strange helmets that only cover your ears. It was called a 'library'. I remember looking at my first Grounder book. I didn't know the language, but the pictures were very interesting. I stayed there for hours, flipping through book after book. That became my new passion; to learn as much as I could about humans. The first thing I had to learn though was their language. The librarian, a nice elderly woman names Mrs. Logan, helped me work the computer and let me use their language CD's. This is when I found my _true_ passion; computers. The thought of so much information available at the tips of my fingers was amazing. I began to leave home earlier and staying at the library as late as I could.

My parents soon began to wonder where I would go during my days. If I wasn't in the lake or the forest, then where could I be? One day, they followed me as I began to head into town. The second I shifted into my human form, I was plucked from the ground and into air before being dragged back into the forest. To describe my parents as furious is an understatement when we got back home. Hours of them lecturing how dangerous going into town is, how hurt they are that I lied about my whereabouts, and constantly checking me for any injuries or deformities or whatever they think the humans could've give me. They banned me from leaving home. I was told that if I could not be trusted to stay safe, then they would make sure of it themselves.

That was the worst month of my life. All I did was eat, sleep, and make notes of what I learned from my time in the library. Dad did what he could to console me, but mom was sure that this decision was for the best. Soon my mother; seeing how unhappy I was, realized that she was being just like her father. She was so desperate to keep me safe that she kept me locked away from anything that may hurt me. It was then that she had a talk with me. She wanted to know what it was about the Grounders that I loved so much, why I felt the need to lie to them and risk danger by leaving the village. I explained that we shouldn't judge them for the actions of a few. Some Grounders are dangerous but not _all_ of them are. Isn't it the same with us? While we are a peaceful race, there are others who do not share the same view. Fire fae are the perfect example. While most find them brash and temperamental, that doesn't define them as a whole.

My mother left my room without saying a word that night, leaving me thinking that I had failed in convincing her to let me go back into town. The next day, she and my father told me that they wished to go to town with me so they could see it with their own eyes. I was so happy that I didn't have the patience to teach them enough to mingle too well. I gave them the quickest crash course I could before dragging them to the library.

When we got there, I could see relief in the librarian's eyes. I don't know if it was so relieved because I was back or seeing that I actually _had_ parents. I guess she thought that I was an orphan, either that or homeless. Though she did look at my dad strangely when he smiled at her and waved his hands in the air. I guess he misunderstood what I meant by 'shake hands'. Since then my parents and I have spent our time in the library learning as much as we could about human history and their culture.

As the years passed I was…I guess you could say 'homeschooled'. With as much as I knew about computers now, it was easy to create identities for myself and my family. My mother took an interest in cooking, going as far as to even find work in a small restaurant. My father became a mechanic. Though he is used to nature, something about the human's automobiles interested him. He began working make the machines healthier for the enviroment. I stayed at the library, working for Mrs. Logan. It was my job to organize and catalogue the books onto the computer. The other fairy's in our village kinda pulled away from us, viewing my family as outcast for freely traveling to the Grounders and back. Though it isn't illegal, it's an unspoken rule that it shouldn't be done. Only _real_ friends stayed by my family's side.

But we got over that a long time ago. _This_ is what I _really_ want you to know. This is _my_ story. The story about how everything changed when I was accepted to Silas University.


	2. I'm Not Alone

Chapter Two: I'm Not Alone

I can't believe it. After a year of begging, promising, and preparing, I'm finally here. I'm at Silas University. For the first time I'm on my own. I'll admit that it was touch and go for a while. You see, I use to have a roommate…several roommates actually. Apparently the girl's found me strange and requested transfers. After so many requests in such a short time I guess the dorm advisor decided that I was better off by myself. At least this leaves me able to decorate my room more. Blue, white, green, and brown fabrics surrounding the room and my own plants that I tend to. I try my best to make this place home.

This place is very…interesting. These humans enjoy mixing old traditions with new ones, like the homecoming goat sacrifice. It was the first time I've ever seen one and it was quite the experience. It wasn't what I expected but I guess there are plenty of ways to sacrifice an animal. Take the Fire fae for example; they toss a goat into a pit of fire for their offering. One thing I _do not_ enjoy is the amount of human males who attempt to court me. The 'Bros' of Zeta Omega Mu constantly attempt to gain my favor. It became so annoying that I decided to avoid most parties. The girls of the Summer Society are nice though. Apparently they are the rivals of the Zeta's. I've never seen two groups so competitive before.

I find my classes quite fascinating. I major in computer science and technology but I have also taken an interest in philosophy. I yearn to know what drives humans. They are so interested in finding the meaning to their existence, separating reality from fantasy, and finding a place in life. My general courses are quite easy considering that I've spent my time studying ahead of the class syllabus.

I still haven't made any friends though. I smile and wave to others, I even attempt to start conversations. I guess I wasn't as prepped for social interactions as I thought. The students here find me strange. In the beginning, they were lured in by my beauty but that soon faded once that they found that we had little in common or are able to relate to anything. I also struggle with understanding their humor. I admit my time here has been a bit lonely. There is one girl who is friendly to me. In my English class I sit next to a human named Laura Hollis. She was staring at the T.A. in front of the room when I had introduced myself and asked about the book that she was reading. She looked at me in confusion before telling me that the book on her desk was Harry Potter. When I told her that I did not know of such a book she looked at me in a mixture of shock and a little offense. She made it her mission to introduce me to the world of J.K. Rowling as well as recommending more book, movies, and TV shows that I should know. It turns out, she's also my dorm neighbor. She lets me borrow her books and DVD's, telling me that I need to be properly 'educated' of the awesomeness that is Joss Whedon, Doctor Who, and Xena. While some of the human stories of the supernatural are _way_ off base, some are a little uncomfortably close which makes me wonder if someone revealed themselves to humans or used their history to make a profit.

Anyway, there are a few things at this school that I'm having a bit of trouble with. The library for one; apparently it is strictly recommended that students not enter it after dark. Then there's the Alchemy Club that constantly have mishaps with their experiments that lead to not so fun conclusions. But the biggest problem is this; as you know, I'm half Earth fairy even though my main element is water. I'm able to sense the earth, like if crops die I could sense the sickness. When I opened my senses to the Silas grounds I felt…sick. It's a very strange thing since fairies don't get sick, at least not without being poisoned or cursed. The only thing that can _truly_ harm a fairy is iron for its our greatest weakness. But something about the Silas grounds make me feel nauseous and gives me a headache. I can't tell whether it's good or bad, it's just like there is too much of everything in one place. I know it sounds strange but that's the best way I can explain it.

Of course it's not like I can tell my parents about this. It was hard enough convincing them to allow me to go here, I'm not going to let a few unexplainable problems ruin it. I just happen to casually leave that subject out of my emails to them.

There was a party last night that basically _everyone_ went too but I decided to stay in, finding the chance to _spread my wings_. I don't shift back to my natural form often here. Not only is it too risky but this place makes my senses go a little haywire. It's better when I fill up the bathtub and lie underneath the water. It's nothing like the lake I'm used to but it's the closest I feel to home.

I sit in front of my laptop, eagerly watching the last season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Their versions of mythology are fairly off but it is still entertaining to watch. Suddenly a knock sounds on my door. I pause the video before jumping up from my bed and opening the door, being greeted by the sight of Laura Hollis.

"Hello Laura!" I smile at the closest thing I have to a friend. "Are you here for your DVD's? I'm almost finished with Buffy."

Laura shakes her head and looks at me with a bit of worry in her eyes. "No it's not that, you can give them back whenever you want. I just wanted to ask if you happened to see my roommate Betty anywhere?"

I frown and shake my head. "No I have not. Why?"

Laura sighs and runs a hand through her hair. "Last night we went to a party and I came back early. I expected Betty to come back too but when I woke up she wasn't there. There's this note from the administration saying that she's left but all of her things are still here." She explains, handing me the note.

I look at the note in confusion. "Why is it multiple choice?"

Laura throws her hands into the air. "I know! Isn't that weird! And it was ontop of a pile of _ick_ when I found it. I've called Betty dozens of times and she's not picking up!"

I hand the note back to the blond. "Do you think something happened?"

"I don't know." Laura looks down for a moment before looking back up, determination in her eyes. "I'm gonna find out what's going on."

"Is there any way I could help?" I ask, wanting to help the kind girl.

She shakes her head. "I'll handle it. I have some calls to make."

I nod. "If you need anything just let me know, okay?"

Laura gives me a small smile. "I will. Thanks Trinity."

I grin. "You're welcome."

Laura smally waves her hand before walking back to her room. I close my door and make my way back to my bed. "I hope everything turns out well." I mumble to myself before pressing play on the paused video.

A couple of days later I hear Laura's voice rise as she speaks to someone on the phone. I guess her search for Betty has not been going very well. I've wanted to offer my help, but I'm afraid to intrude. _Maybe I should just go knock on her door and offer my expertise. There's a lot you can find with a computer._ I'm not quite sure of her moralistic view on hacking though. It's something that I've found to be very frowned upon by humans, an invasion of privacy. I'm not quite sure why they would leave such private information vulnerable to computer techs like me but I can understand that the world is becoming more and more digitized and for some reason humans feel that they can connect without actually _connecting_ at all. If Laura consents to it; give me a few minutes and I could pull up everything known about Elizabeth Spielsdorf. I could provide anything from her social media profiles to her social security number. Oh well, I guess that all I can do is wait.

As the evening sets in, I prepare myself to go to the dining hall for dinner. I do enjoy some of the food here but tend to stay away from their more…peculiar options. I put on a thin jacket before making my way out of my room and into the hallway, locking my door behind me. I smile at passing students on my way out of the dormitory. A pale, thin, brunette girl dressed in all black passes me by on the way. My breath hitches and my feet grind to a halt. _That feeling._ I think to myself. I may not be the most experienced being but I do know that feeling. It's familiar yet unknown at the same time. I turn my head and watch as the girl steps into the open doorway of Laura's room. _Another supernatural is here._ I don't know who she is. I don't know _what_ she is. All I _do_ know is…I'm not alone.


	3. Mystery

Chapter Three: Mystery

It's been three days since Laura got a new roommate and I'm still trying to figure out exactly _what_ her roommate is. The only thing I know about her is her name; Carmilla, and the only reason I know _that_ is because of Laura's loud frustrated voice seeping through the wall that separates our rooms. Other than that, all I know is that apparently Carmilla steals Laura's food, wears Betty's clothes, sleeps all day, keeps guests _well_ into the night, and refuses to clean anything.

I think me and Laura are _kind_ of friends now. I don't know much about human friendships but I've read that there's usually an exchange of bracelets, or necklaces, or various other tokens of affection. I've notice that Laura doesn't wear much jewelry but she seems to be fond of sweets. _Maybe I should ask mother to send another care package with extra sweets._ I can only imagine Laura's reaction once she tastes my mother's _special_ brownies. And no, not 'special' like those horrible things that I tried at a party my first week here. Whoever mixed those herbs had _no idea_ what they were doing. I'm surprised that human's found so many uses from the gifts of the earth but is it too much to ask that they leave some things to the professionals? All those brownies did was make others act strange and they were _disgusting_. I have no idea why people were eating so much of them.

The 'specialness' in my mother's brownies is a little pinch of fairy dust. And no, not like Tinkerbell in that silly Peter Pan book. Fairy dust doesn't make people fly; it just gives things a bit of a _kick_. Think of the world's sweetest wines or the richest chocolate. Do you think the humans were able to achieve that by themselves? But let it be known that you _do not_ mix any fairy dust with another. It might feel good but it could have drastic consequences. It's actually illegal because it's fairly similar to the human's drug use. Using one at a time is okay, but mixing them together is intoxicating and the effects of the mixture will influence your actions, which can lead to disastrous results.

You see, fairy dust varies depending on the fae it comes from. Earth dust makes you feel calm and grounded, Water makes you feel confident and free, Fire makes you feel strong and passionate, while Air…I find Air dust the most spectacular of all. I've never had it myself and it is _extremely_ rare that Air Fairies even _offer_ their dust.

My mother told me that each royal family has a small amount of each elemental fae's dust; they were given as a token of gratitude to whichever fae kingdom hosted the Centennial Conclave. Her mother let her try some of it. All she had was a single fleck of an Air Fairies dust. She told me that there are no words for what she experienced but never has she felt so good, so pure, so…_light._ She explained that she understood why her family rarely indulge in it, why the Air Fae rarely share it or even use it themselves, for it could easily be addicting. That's the reason why that out of all the Fae, Air Fairies will never share their dust with the world; they know that anyone who experienced the effect of the dust would seek more and they would not stop until they found it.

My mother told me a secret that day; a secret that I was told to _never_ share with anyone. She told me about how there was only _one_ time that the leaders of the fae mixed their dusts together. When the fae were suffering and dying because of the Grounder's wars, the fairies looked to the royals for guidance. But every royal was at a lost, each of them were lacking what was needed to save their people. They held a meeting in secret to discuss ways to help their people. They came to the agreement that they would make a tonic. They would each fill a chalice with their dust, creating a power fueled tonic. Not only is does the tonic contain the dust of each element, but the dust of _the most powerful fae alive_. They agreed that the only time such an event will ever occur will be when our species as a whole is _literally_ on the brink of extinction. They each drank from the chalice, temporarily infusing themselves with pure power.

The royals were able to calm down and clear their thoughts with power of the Earth dust, creative and confident with the power of Water, strong and inspiring with the power of Fire. The most important of all is that their intentions remained balanced and _pure_ with the power of Air. They were able to organize a plan for their kingdoms. They worked with such fluidity, as if they were one. Without this tonic, our people would've died out.

I don't know why the royals keep the story a secret; I guess they don't want to show any kind of weakness to their people, or any other supernatural out there. I _do_ know that the elves were surprised that we survived. Elves are even _more_ reclusive than we are, but they are also a lot more powerful. When the wars became more common and the humans began expanding, they were able to use their magic to travel to a separate plane of existence that they now call home. Elves were never really sociable or even really _fond_ of others in the first place so I guess I can understand why they weren't eager to offer shelter in their realm. Some of them chose stay but only a very few. There are probably only a handful of elves in the world today and no one's ever going to find them unless they want to be found.

Anyway, maybe Laura will be open to the idea of hacking if I tell her that I can have her roommate reassigned without the administration ever knowing about it.

I jolt in surprise when I hear screech of disgust coming from my neighbor's room. I jump up from my desk and head out into the hallway and towards Laura's room. I raise my hand to knock when suddenly the door opens.

Laura jumps back in surprise. "Trinity?!" She says, putting her hand on her chest to calm her speeding heart.

I give a small bow. "Apologies for startling you, but I heard you scream from my room and just wanted to see if you were okay."

Laura eagerly nods. "Thank you for coming because I need a witness for this." She says before taking my hand and dragging me all the way to the room of our Floor Don; Lola Perry. She rapidly knocks on the door until a tall, curly haired, redheaded girl opens the door.

"Laura! Hello, is there anything you need?" Perry asks.

"My roommate is a _total creep_!" Laura tells her.

Perry frowns at her. "Now Laura, I know that not everyone gets along right away but that's no reason for name call-"

"She has a milk container full of _blood_!" Laura interrupts her.

Perry's door is pulled farther open and a shorter redhead; Susan LaFontaine appears in the doorway. "Blood?" Sus-, _LaFontaine_ asks.

Susan LaFontaine has made it known that she prefers to be called by her last name and not be referred to a specified gender. I don't quite understand it but there's always more to learn about human customs.

"What exactly do you mean when you say 'blood'?" Perry asks.

"I mean _blood_ blood." Laura clarifies for her. "I was going to have a bowl of Chokoa Crunch for breakfast and use Carmilla's _milk_, but it wasn't milk in the container it was _blood_!" Seeing the skeptical look on Perry's face Laura sighs in exasperation. "Oh just come on, I'll show you." She says before leading everyone to her room.

* * *

><p>Laura stands aside while Perry and LaFontaine examine the blood covered cereal with furrowed eyebrows and hands on their waists. "See?" She says. "Blood. In the milk container. In my creepy roommate's milk container." She looks at Perry. "So, she's gotta go, right?" She gestures back to the cereal bowl. "I mean, this is like, a death threat, or a health code violation. And the time has come for Carmilla to <em>go<em>."

While Laura speaks, I tilt my head in thought. _Carmilla's a vampire. She keeps her own personal supply so obviously she isn't feeding on anyone on campus. So aside from horrible living habits and manners she's pretty harmless._ I try to think back to the stories I've heard, wondering if vampires and fae ever crossed paths. If she has she must be extremely old. The fae haven't interacted with humans for centuries and it's even _rarer_ that we travel out of our way and run into other creatures. I've heard every thousand years or so the fae are invited as guest to Elvin balls. Inter-species interaction doesn't happen very often, but hey, time flies when you're immortal. I snap back into focus when Perry begins speaking.

The Floor Don raises an eyebrow. "Well, there's no denying it's a little…odd."

"Odd?" LaFontaine asks. "That's where you're going with this? How many people you know take Type-O with their Chokoa Crunch?"

"Okay, LaFontaine, you know you're not here in an _official_ capacity." Perry scolds her and raises her hand to her chest. "So, as Laura's _actual_ Floor Don-"

"Are you really gonna try and pretend this isn't a total freak show?" LaFontaine interrupts her.

Perry looks between LaFontaine and Laura. "We haven't even given the roommate a chance to explain herself! For all we know it could be some kind of like…protein supplement."

"For extreme hemoglobin deficiency?" LaFontaine scoffs.

Perry closes her eyes and sighs. "You're not helping." She says before looking at the bowl again.

LaFontaine holds out her hands. "I know you wanna pretend the weird here's all Doctor Seuss, Perr, but in _my_ world the alchemy club press gangs test subjects in the caf. As this floor's _un_official truth speaker, I'm gonna tell frosh she needs to wise up if she intends to survive."

Laura nods, pointing a finger in air but not moving her eyes from the bowl. "Oh, see, surviving. Yes. I like that plan. And in order to do that, we need to get rid of Carmilla."

"Well, it's not that I don't understand, but don't you think you oughta talk to her first? A lot of problems can be solved through good communication." Perry tells her.

"A lot of problems can also be solved by taking hair and blood samples to figure out _exactly_ what kind of freaky it is you're dealing with." LaFontaine suggest, pulling out a large hypodermic needle.

I frown at the instrument while Laura and Perry squirm and look away. "Ow, wow. That…" Laura flusters. "Oh, okay."

"I'm a bio major." They say, smiling with pride at the medical instrument before looking back at Laura.

Perry shakes her head. "I still think that this is a bit of an overreaction." She says before looking at me. "Trinity, you went through thirteen roommates before the Dorm Administration decided that you were better off alone. Although your roommates didn't agree with you habits and hobbies, you are a normal, kind, intelligent young woman."

Laura looks at me in shock and confusion. "You've had thirteen roommates?"

I nod. "I keep a lot of plants in my room since I don't trust to put them in the green house with the Alchemy Club's frequent visits there." I tell her, shrugging. "Besides, the green house can't support the types of plants that I have. Some girl's claimed to be allergic, others had a problem with the various shades of color that I decorate with, but I think it came down to my being unable to socially bond and connect with them. As you know, I don't know a lot about pop culture and seem to be a social misfit. While they were busy going to parties, I preferred to stay in and study. One girl was quite vexed that I refused to do her homework for her."

Perry nods and looks at Laura. "See? Trinity never did anything wrong. She was homeschooled and this is her first time away from her family. Not to mention that her family lived in the wilderness so she's not used to being around a lot of people, especially those her own age."

LaFontaine looks at me with a hint of suspicion in their eyes. "You grew up in the wilderness?"

"My family believes that the technological advancements of the world only make people lazier and will eventually leave a large amount of the population incompetent should they ever need to function without internet, or electricity, and other machines that have replaced what man can naturally do by hand." I explain my well-practiced speech about my home life.

Laura's brows furrow in confusion. "But aren't you a computer major and at the top of your class so far? How do you know so much if you grew up in the woods?"

"When I was a girl, I would travel miles out into the small town at the border of the forest." I begin.

"Your parents let you walk around the woods by yourself?" Perry asks in concern. "What if you had gotten lost, or hurt, or attacked by a wild animal?"

I smile. "I know the forest like the back of my hand, I'm not clumsy, and I've never had a problem with animals. The more dangerous ones where far away from where we lived and the ones near us were friendly. I guess they were used to our scents around the area. Animals were never really a bother."

Now that's not a _complete_ lie. I do know the woods well and fairies are naturally graceful. But I've never actually _walked_ to town and animals aren't friendly because they're used to our scent. Fae are in tune to their element and its creatures. We can't actually speak to animals but we can understand them in a way. It's like an exchange of feelings. Basically we're naturally born with a second language. As long as we mean no harm, animals don't bother us. For those who refuse to ignore us or continue on in peace, we just release a bit of power to let them know who the _true_ alpha is. As I said; animals were never really a bother. Another plus from being a bi-elemental fae, I can communicate with sea _and_ land animals.

"Anyway," I continue. "The first place I found was a library, which happened to have computers. They were kinda old but still functional. First I read as many books as I could and then I learned how to use a computer. I thought it was amazing how easily one can obtain the knowledge of so many things while sitting in one place. One day my parents followed me and after a little arguing and convincing that I wasn't going to forget everything I was taught and raised with, I slowly began to introduce them to society. My mom eventually got a job at a small restaurant in town and my dad became a mechanic."

"Wait." LaFontaine says. "Your dad believes machines make people lazy and robs them of basic survival skills but he became a _mechanic_?"

"Specifically he works to make cars healthier for the environment. He's very good at it. And my mom made the restaurant popular by making sweets that are delicious _and_ healthy. The town threw an Earth Day festival for the first time last year. The mayor even gave them an award for raising awareness and helping their budget by suggesting less expensive ways to live without giving up the luxuries that they're use to." I smile as I think back to the memory.

My parents were able to convince the few friends they had left in our village to shift into their human form for the celebration. Later that night when they returned to the village, the Earth Fairies had a celebration of their own. It was the first time that the village didn't act as if my family was contagious or invisible. They didn't even know that the humans _had_ an Earth Day. They gradually began to warm up to my family again. It's still a work in progress but it's better than it used to be.

"It took a while to convince them to let me go here." I continue. "But it was only the natural worries that a parent has for their child when they grow up. They want me to be safe but they also want me to be _happy_. They knew that nothing would make me happier than traveling to a new place and furthering my education." I lift my hands a bit before letting them fall back to my sides, slapping lightly against my thighs. "And here I am today."

"The Dorm Administration was sympathetic with Trinity's case and felt that she shouldn't have to feel any more uncomfortable than she already was with living here. She's going through_ twice_ the emotions that others do when leaving home and slso she's a good student, she never causes trouble, and she's kind to everyone she meets. The Administration found no fault in her habits or hobbies and thought that it was best to leave her to her own devices instead of having to live with people who make her time at the University difficult." Perry explains to Laura. "Which is why you should give Carmilla a chance and _talk_ to her before things get any worse."

"But Trinity and Carmilla are _nothing_ alike. In fact, they are the complete _opposite_ of each other. Trinity's nice to everyone she meets, Carmilla doesn't even _look_ at people before she starts being rude to them. Trinity _asks_ to borrow my things and returns them in a timely manner, Carmilla _steals_ them and when I take them back she just steals them again. Trinity is neat and clean; Carmilla leaves her clothes _everywhere_, never picks up after herself, and constantly clogs the drain in the bathroom. Trinity doesn't spend the night with company in her room being obnoxiously loud with _no_ consideration whatsoever to people around her, Carmilla on the other hand, sleeps all day and invites her 'study buddies' to hang out all night in _my_ bed." Laura rants angrily.

"Laura. Laura!" I place hand on her shoulder, stopping the girl from listing any more differences between Carmilla and I. "While I am flattered by your compliments, I think it is most important that you calm down and take a deep breath."

Laura nods and takes a deep calming breath before sighing. Seeing that she took my advice, I let my hand drop back to my side. "Believe me; Carmilla and Trinity are two _very_ different people." She tells Perry, shaking her head in frustration. "Okay, if you can't help me, should I go to the Dean?"

Perry and LaFontaine share a wide-eyed look before turning back to Laura. "Well, that's really not a good idea." The Floor Don says.

LaFontaine nods in agreement. "Yeah, better just handle this yourself."

"By complaining to the Dean, you'd probably just draw attention to yourself and you don't want that." Perry explains.

"They could stick you with someone much worse and you don't wanna end up with some draco- pyromaniac, you know?" LaFontaine tells her.

"I'm sorry." Laura looks at the short redhead in confusion. "'Draco-pyro' what now? What's that-" She asks, only to be ignored as the two continue to try and convince her of taking a different route in handling Carmilla.

"Besides, your old roommate will be back soon and then Carmilla will have to move out." Perry says.

Her friend nods. "It's a distinct possibility."

"It's what happened with all the other girls who disappeared." Our Floor Don say. Perrry's eyes widen at her mistake she but composes herself with a smile.

Laura looks at Perry in shock before blinking. "I'm sorry, did you just say 'all the other girls who went missing'? As in, this has happened before and nobody said anything?"

"It was nothing unusual. Just, you know, girls wanting to have a good time and getting a little carried away." Perry flips a bit of hair over her shoulder as she tries to explain the situation as calmly and casually as possible.

The shorter redhead scoffs. "It was completely unusual." They say before turning to Laura. "How do you not know about this? Both of them went missing for two days and then they just show up in a dorm room or a psych classroom with no memory of what happened to them."

Laura turns to me. "Did you know about this?"

I shake my head. The news is a shock to me as well. "No. I don't go out much and I don't have anyone to talk to. I wouldn't notice if anyone went missing."

"It was frosh week. They had too much to drink." Perry says when she sees the suspicion in Laura's eyes.

"Yeah, because that causes random disappearances." LaFontaine says.

"Really?" I ask them, genuinely curious. "Drinking too much of those disgusting beverages makes you disappear? How much is too much because when I went out almost everyone had a drink in their hand."

The two look at me in confusion and Laura places her hand on my arm. "They were being sarcastic Trinity." She tells me.

"Oh!" I nod. "Sarcasm: noun. It's a harsh or bitter derision or irony. A sharply ironical taunt; sneer or cutting remark."

"Right." Laura drags out the words before turning back to the two redheads, letting her hand fall back to her side. "She's still getting a hang of that."

"I understand sarcasm." I defend. "Just as I understand irony: the use of words to convey a meaning that is the _opposite_ of its literal meaning. What I don't understand is why people are so found of using them. What is the point of saying something that you do not mean?"

"Susan, I swear-" Perry says but they interrupt her.

"LaFontaine." They correct her.

"Really?" She says, exasperated. "Fine. LaFontain-"

"Okay, whoa. I need to talk to these girls. Like, right now." Laura cuts them off, putting a stop to a potential argument.

"Oh, yeah! Of course, you should talk to them." Perry nods. "Um, except maybe-"

"Except maybe what?"

"Well, maybe not right now. Um. They weren't hurt or anything just shaken up, and you're a little…intense."

"Intense?"

"She means they're traumatized and you're on a mission, girl." LaFontaine clarifies.

"But I'll talk to them and see if they feel up to meeting you, okay?" Perry suggest.

Laura sighs and takes a seat at her desk. "Yeah, okay."

Just then, Carmilla walks through the open door and into the room, gaining everyone's attention.

"You must be Carmilla." Perry says.

"Must I be?" The brunette asks with a bored look on her face, strolling passed us and dropping her book bag onto her bed before taking her pink shirt off, leaving her in only pants and a black bra.

Laura nods towards Carmilla, her face clearly expressing what she has to deal with by living with this girl. I turn away from the sight, not wanting to invade the girl's privacy even though it is clear that she is comfortable with everyone seeing her as she is. LaFontaine glances at the shirtless girl before looking away as well.

Perry nods, her eyes looking at everything but Carmilla. "Well, then. So nice to have you on the floor. I'm sure we'll be seeing a lot of you. Come on, Susan." She says, tapping them on the arm. "And Laura…" The blond looks at her. "Remember, _communication_." She says before leaving.

While Carmilla busies herself with sliding on a black shirt, LaFontaine steps towards Laura, offering their syringe. Laura shakes her head and they quickly follow after Perry. I point at the wall, motioning that I'm next door if she needs me before taking my leave as well.

I quickly make my way back to my dorm and sit on my bed, pressing an ear to the wall. I want to know what Carmilla will say to explain away the blood. I shift my ears into their natural form so I can hear the conversation better. I hear shuffling and movement before Laura speaks.

_"Yeah, you're not gonna find your 'soy milk' in there."_

_"It was just a prank."_ The vampire says.

_"You filled a milk container with blood as a prank?"_

_"Ugh, you are such a freak."_

_"There are worse things to be."_

_"Sure. How about a 'Carmy Cold Sore'? That would be worse."_

_"Oh, were you the one spreading those little rumors? Nice try. That bunched up little face you make when you're angry is hilarious, buttercup…"_

_"I wonder how hilarious it'll be when I get the dean of students to kick you out."_

Carmilla chuckles. _"You whining to the dean? I'd pay to see that."_

_"Think I won't?"_

_"Be my guest."_

I hear the sound of footsteps pass my room before stopping.

_"Sorry. Are we, like, interrupting something?"_ An unfamiliar voice asks.

_"Really not."_ Carmilla says, annoyance in her voice.

_"Okay, cool. Hey, hey! Don't I know you from an intro class?"_

_"I doubt it."_

_"Okay. Um. I'm Sarah Jane, and this is Natalie. The Floor Don said Laura… Laura wanted to talk to us."_

_"Oh, yeah."_ Laura speaks up._ "Laura, that's me."_

"_Okay."_

_"Please, come in. Sit down."_ I hear more movement.

"Thank you."

_"Ignore my roommate. She's a sociopath."_

I know I should stop listening, I've heard what I wanted but I also want to know what happened to these girls. I rest my head against the wall as the girls begin to explain their experience to Laura.

_"So, earlier this year there was a thing where you guys kind of disappeared."_ Laura says.

_"Devastating interrogation technique there."_ Carmilla says. Ah, sarcasm again. I still don't understand why people are so fond of using it.

_"Yeah."_ Sarah Jane says. _"It was freaky, okay? One second I'm at the swim team's under the sea party. I'm, uh, downing Fizzy Dagons. And then, the next thing you know, I'm in my dorm room, I'm waking up, all these people are yelling at me, they're saying I've been missing for two days…"_

_"And the same kind of thing happened to you?"_ Laura asks the other girl.

_"Yeah, like, I was at a wine and cheese and then I was standing in the middle of a lecture hall a day and a half later. Like nothing in between."_ Natalie tells her.

_"Right."_ Sarah Jane agrees.

_"And you guys don't remember anything?"_ Laura asks.

_"No."_

_"I dunno, someone that you saw, someone that struck you as odd?"_

_"El zilcho. But Dagons do have a ton of sambuca in them, right? So…"_

_"Well there's the scoop of the century."_ Carmilla interrupts. _She really seems to enjoy sarcasm._ I think to myself.

_"Feel free to stuff it."_ Laura crabs.

Natalie begins to speak. _"No, nothing from the time I was gone. Nothing I can remember…but, before that there were the dreams._

_"The dreams?"_

_"Yeah, like, I kept on having the same dream before. Like, I'm awake in the dark, in my bed, and there's something like a cat or a lizard on the floor by the bed prowling. And sometimes it was this strange figure with dark hair and a white dress standing over me. And the darkness is in my eyes and in my throat and I can't breathe."_

Carmilla begins to whistle what I've come to learn is the theme song to The Twilight Zone before stopping and whistling The X-Files tune.

_"What is wrong with you?!"_ Laura asks, frustration and offense clear in her voice.

_"Right now I'm out of soy milk."_ The vampire replies with ease.

_"Um. I'm sorry. Um. I…"_ Natalie struggles. _"I used to be…but now… I'm not, like… I'm sorry, I can't be here anymore. I have to go. Um. I really hope that it passes over you and I hope it doesn't touch your face." _

I hear the pounding of her quick footsteps pass my room.

_"Nat?! Um, guys, I'm really sorry. Nat's kinda PTSD about the creepy dreams, but I'm gonna go. I'm gonna talk her down. Sorry."_ Sarah Jane says and I hear her footsteps pass my room as well.

_"If someone's going around kidnapping girls, I can see why they threw those two back. Oh, sorry. Did I mess up your big break there, Lauronica Mars?"_ Carmilla mocks.

_"I am going to kill you."_ Laura threatens.

I take my head off the wall, shifting my ears back to their human form. I lie back on my bed and ponder on what I just heard, trying to figure out the cause of those poor girls pain. Some supernatural's grow stronger with age. Is it possible that Carmilla could be causing the girls nightmares? Even if she is, that doesn't explain everything. If Carmilla _is_ responsible for the girl's disappearances, why didn't she feed on them? They said that they appeared days later, apparently with no injuries or any memory of what happened to them. This makes no sense, the only reason vampires interact with humans is to _feed_, so if Carmilla is the culprit, what is she doing with the girls?

I jolt in shock as the sound of an alarm blares through the building. I cover my ears, trying to muffle the sound as I quickly think back on the alarms and procedures section of the Student Handbook. _Town Hall._ I remember. _The alarm is a call for a mandatory Town Hall meeting and all students must be present within five minutes._ I rush from my bed and into the hallway, closing my eyes at the sight of flashing blue lights. After a moment I dull my senses and open my eyes, seeing LaFontaine motion students towards the exit as Perry frantically explains the alarm to Laura before rushing out of the building, Laura and LaFontaine on her heels. I turn back to the room and see Carmilla step out with a smug smile on her face. She looks at me and raises an eyebrow as she struts pass. I frown and follow the students out of the building.


	4. Investigation

Chapter Four: Investigation

I return to my room after the disaster that was the Town Hall meeting. Turns out, the meeting wasn't called because of the strange disappearances of female students, but because Laura posted her journalism videos on the Silas network, and since the videos contain her speaking about her suspicions of the disappearances, it was flagged as inflammatory content. The dean of students warned us that whoever is spreading the rumors about missing students would face the consequences. At that point, Danny Lawrence; Laura and I's English T.A. and the Vice President of the Summer Society argued that the subject shouldn't be dismissed as a rumor since one of her society sisters is missing. After that, everything began to go downhill once the Zeta's volunteered to protect any coed 7.5 or higher. I'm don't know what they meant by 7.5, but something about that comment caused an uproar with the members of the Summer Society, who suggested reinstating night marches. The Alchemy Department argued that the night marches would ruin some mycological transitions. And then the Zeta's began chanting nonsense and someone began to throw fish into the crowd. Seeing that there was a potential riot on the rise, the dean ended the Town Hall. No questions were answered, no problems were solved, and no plans were made. The Town Hall meeting was completely useless. On the bright side, I was able to give Laura a way to safely post her videos without the University interfering by making sure her video posts go undetected by the Silas Network.

There is something that I'm very worried about. When we gathered for the Town Hall…I felt power in the air, I couldn't pin point it because I was also picking up other supernaturals in the area. The power made felt similar to when I open my earth senses to the campus, but instead of making me feel sick it just made me…_terrified._ I don't know what causes this feeling, all I know is that it's old, and dark, and consuming. I wish I could talk to my mother about this but if she thinks I may be in the _slightest_ bit of danger, I'll be back in our village before I could blink.

_Maybe I can contact Grandmother in secret. _I think to myself. Coventina Clairborn is the closest thing I have to a best friend. I love going to visit the palace because she always tells me of our peoples history and even teaches me thinks that I didn't even know I could do, things apparently only those of a royal bloodline could do. While I can't ever see myself every taking the throne, Grandmother made sure that I was well prepared.

"_You don't need a crown to be a Queen."_ She told me. I'm still trying to figure out what she meant by that. What would I be Queen of?

My thoughts are interrupted by a knock on my door. I stand from my desk and walk across the room, opening my door. A tall, blond-haired, blue-eyed male stands in the doorway. "May I help you?" I asks.

The boy smirks, slowly dragging his eyes down my body before meeting my gaze. "My name's Brent. As a Zeta Omega Mu, it is my duty to protect the hotties of this campus."

"Thank you for the offer but I do not require your protection."

"Hotties around the school are going missing. It isn't safe to go out by yourself at night. Who knows what could happen? That's why I should walk you to your classes and stuff. We could get to know each other." He says, leering at me.

"As I said, I do not require your protection. I have no night classes and I do not attend parties. My day is over by the time night falls. I suggest you offer your services to someone else." I tells him, a bit of sternness in my voice.

"Come on…"

Seeing that he does not intend to leave I release a small surge of my power towards him. Brent's body stiffens and his eyes widen. He gulps and rubs the back of his neck with a shaky hand.

"Well you obviously won't be in any trouble." He says, clearing his throat. "I'll go see if anyone else needs my help." He doesn't wait for a reply before quickly fleeing from my doorway as calmly as he could.

Two more Zeta's pass by my door and make their way to Laura's dorm, knocking on her door. I narrow my eyes at the shorter male. _He feels just like Carmilla._ He must've been one of the other supernaturals that I sensed at Town Hall. _Just how many vampires does this school have?_ I think before stepping out into the hallway, closing my door behind me. I head out of the dorm in search of Laura's dark haired roommate. While I don't know Carmilla well, she's lived with Laura for all this time and hasn't laid a finger on her. I don't trust the other vampire though and there's really nothing I can do without revealing myself.

My search doesn't last long as the vampire I'm looking for is slowly walking towards the direction of our dormitory. "Carmilla!" I lightly jog up to her.

"What have I done to make you think that I enjoy your presence enough to talk to you outside of my room?" She asks as she passes me with a bored look on her face.

I ignore the comment and keep pace with her. "I just wanted to let you know that they Zeta's went through with offering their protection to the coeds."

"Oh joy." She sighs and rolls her eyes.

"A couple of them are at your room." I tell her. "What were their names? Uh…um." I think. "Will and Kirsch."

Carmilla tenses at the sound of Will's name before walking faster towards the dormitory. I stop walking and watch after the girl as she enters the dorms. _It's a good thing that worked._ Even if Carmilla's reason for going wasn't to protect Laura, it's clear that she likes her space and won't put up with anyone intruding it. She should be able to keep the Zeta's away. I look at the starry night sky before starting to walk back to the dormitory. By the time I make my way inside and up the stairs, most of the Zeta's seem to have cleared out. I pass Will and Kirsch on the way to my room.

Kirsch holds a hand to his neck. "I can't believe she bit me."

I walk into my room and close the door behind me. _Maybe getting Carmilla wasn't such a good idea. I didn't want her to hurt anyone. _I take a seat at my desk and start up my computer. I check Laura's vlog for updates and see that the whole incident was recorded. While Carmilla didn't use the _best_ technique to rid their room of the Zeta's, at least it was affective. And more people are viewing Laura's vlog. Seems like the anonymous emails I sent out got the attention of some of the student. Laura looks so happy. I'm not going to tell her that while I was cloaking her vlog from the University network, I placed the video in the emails of several students. I'm just glad I was able to help. I turn the screen off with a sigh before readying myself for bed.

* * *

><p>The next day was relatively normal. Fortunately I was able to attend all of my classes Zeta free. Danny and Laura spend the evening trying to figure out who's responsible for the missing students. The only problem that night was the loud music playing from Laura's room. For some reason, Sarah Jane and Natalie are acting very out of character…or at least extremely different from how they were the last time Laura spoke to them. If I didn't know any better, I would think that they ingested at least a handful of Water fair dust. But that's impossible since I'm the only fairy here.<p>

* * *

><p>The next morning I walk to Laura's dorm. I pass Carmilla on the way and smile at her only to be ignored. I knock on the threshold of Laura's room.<p>

Laura turns to look at me. "Oh hey, come on in." She says, turning back to her computer. "I need to show you something." I sit on edge of Laura's bed closest to her desk. "So, after several hours of Facebook stalking, let me reintroduce to you: Elizabeth Anne Spielsdorf; High school valedictorian, mayoral page." She says, pulling up several pictures of Betty.

My eyes widen. "You spent hours looking for these? You should've come to me; I could've used my facial recognition software to have this information in seconds." I tell her, making Laura's face fall. "I'm sorry. I know you're a little uncomfortable with how easy it is for me to access personal information."

"No." Laura denies, shaking her head. "It's not that-"

"It's okay. You found information that Betty was comfortable sharing with the world. If you had let me do it, we might have learned things that she would rather we not know."

She turns back to the monitor and stares at the images before shaking her head and sighing. "Whatever was happening was happening before she even disappeared. And I didn't have a clue. God, what the hell is going on here?"

My throat tightens as I begin to feel the suffocating aura of power again. Suddenly LaFontaine and Perry rush into the room.

"Laura, you gotta hide quick." The shorter redhead warns her.

"What?" Laura asks.

"The dean! The dean is coming!" Perry tells her before the tall woman appears in the doorway, making Laura and I stand from our seats.

"Uh, hi, miss dean. Can we help you?" Laura asks nervously.

"I'm here to speak with Miss Karnstein." The dean says.

"Who?"

"Carmilla."

* * *

><p>I try to remain as calm as possible as the dean reprimands Carmilla in the hallway. LaFontaine presses their ear against the door, eavesdropping on the conversation while Perry stands by the kitchen area with a disapproving look on her face.<p>

Laura speaks to the camera with glee in her voice. "And what kind of thrilling do we find ourselves on now, gentle viewers? Our _terrifying_ dean of students has dropped by unannounced and she's reprimanding my _awful_ roommate in the hallway. So, _naturally_, I thought I'd share the fun with you."

"This is so childish. You'd think we were still six." Perry scolds.

"Shh! I can almost hear what she's saying." LaFontaine says. "Okay. 'I didn't go out of my way to get you accepted here to have you behaving like this!'." They relay. "Man, she is in trouble."

Laura chuckles. "Well, she's as wonderful a student as she is a roommate."

Perry folds her arms across her chest. "Schadenfreude isn't very attractive, Laura."

The girl closes her eyes and grins. "But so satisfying." She opens her eyes and turns her attention back toward the door when the conversation outside becomes more heated.

"Oh, uh…" LaFontaine listens to the scolding. "'If you don't take care of the situation _I_ will.'" They smile and turn to look at Laura. "Man, all that's missing is 'now straighten up and fly right, young lady'."

"Yes!" The journalist fist pumps. Perry clears her throat, making the blond turn to her. "I know, it's just…she _so_ had it coming."

My fist clench as I desperately wait for the dean to leave the building.

Perry looks at me in concern. "Trinity, are you okay? You seem ill?" She says, making the others examine me.

I try to swallow the lump in my throat and compose myself as best as I can. I clear my throat before I speak. "I'm fine. I skipped dinner last night and I haven't eaten today. I'll be better once I get something in my stomach." I lie.

Perry frowns. "You shouldn't skip meals. It's important to get a health serving of proteins and nutrients every day."

Laura grabs a cookie from the container on her desk and offers it to me. I repress a groan as I take the cookie out of her hand. I don't think I'll be able to eat anything or manage to keep it down while the dean is so close.

LaFontaine straightens up when the door suddenly opens. "Oh, hi, miss Dean sir, your disapprovingness."

"So lovely to have you visiting the floor, ma'am." Perry greets, the smile on her face doesn't hide the fear in her eyes. The dean ignores the students and strides away. I release a sigh of relief as the dean's aura begins to fade away.

Carmilla stalks into the room with her head down. She slides her book bag off her should and tosses it onto her bed before plopping down herself. She rests her arm on one of her knees and rubs her forehead.

An awkward silence passes before Perry speaks up. "Well, as much fun as we've all been having, I'm sure LaFontaine and I have a student crisis to attend to somewhere." She walks towards the door.

Her friend nods in agreement. "Oh, yeah, totally." They say before motioning towards Carmilla. "But before we go, I have some questions for you about-"

Perry cuts her off. "You can ask her later."

"But-"

"Now, Susan." She says; opening the door and leaving, LaFontaine follows after her.

I stand from my seat on Laura's bed. "I'll see you later." I tell Laura and look at Carmilla. "Bye Carmilla." As usual, the vampire ignores me and I take my leave.

Once I'm in my room and the door is locked, I collapse to the floor, panting. That power that I felt the other night…it was the dean. The dean is a vampire, the dean knows Carmilla, _Carmilla_ is a vampire; there are other vampires on campus. Girls are disappearing and the dean's going out of her way to dismiss the situation as a rumor. If vampires aren't feeding on the girl's then what are they doing?

There's something about the dean, something…_off_. She's a vampire but she feels…_tainted_, or tied to something. I can sense that she's old and powerful and whatever she's tied to is even _more_ old and powerful.

I shakily stand up and make my way to the bed, letting myself fall onto the mattress in exhaustion. _I need to contact Grandmother._ I think as my eyes drift close. Whatever is building up seems to be dark and dangerous but my biggest worry is…can I even do anything to stop it?


	5. Gravity

Chapter Five: Gravity

The next day, I spend my time eagerly waiting for a chance to contact my grandmother. Because she resides in the palace at sea, I won't be able reach her with human technology like I do mom and dad. I need to find a water source to be able to reach her, and not just _any_ water, but saltwater. While I may be able to reach her by using the water available in my room, because my grandmother is so far away, the connection wouldn't be as good; using water similar to that of the territory improves it. Luckily for me, Silas happens to contain multiple pools for the swim teams. But I don't understand why they felt the need to have a saltwater, a freshwater, _and_ a chlorinated pool.

Unfortunately, I won't be able to go to the gym until after dark. I wanted to go directly after my classes ended but the women's swim team will be in the gym for practice. I have to make sure that no one is in the area before I attempt to reach my grandmother. The last thing I need is to expose not only myself but a _royal_ as well. As far as the humans know, fairies are a myth and the supernatural believe that we are endangered if not already extinct.

It's one thing if I were to expose myself, but to expose the Queen of the Water Fae; thereby revealing that one kingdom if not _all_ of the faes still exist would be disastrous. I can't even begin to imagine the consequences I would have to face if that were to happen. I'd be made an example to the rest of the fae; showing them that endangering not only your element but your species as a whole is treason and will not be tolerated. My family would have to punish me; they'd have no other choice. If I were to be spared after committing such a crime, the kingdom's subjects would rebel; which is the last thing that should happen in a time of fear, uncertainty, and panic.

I'm pulled out of my dark thoughts by the sight of the night sky. I look over at the clock by my bed. _The swim team should be just about finished._ I think, before leaving my room. Once I'm outside, I keep close to the shadows of trees and buildings, not wanting to attract the attention of any passerby's or Zeta's. I hear the sound of a ruckus the closer I come to the gym.

Getting as close as possible without being seen, I take cover behind a nearby tree and observe the spectacle. _I've grown tiresome of this petty feud._ My jaw clenches in irritation as I watch the sisters of the Summer Society bicker with the brothers of Zeta Omega Mu about who gets to protect the campus. _Did they have to do this right outside the gym?_ Suddenly the two groups collide, shoving at each other, their voices rising louder. The women of the swim team stand a safe distance away, their faces showing a mixture of worry, fatigue, and amusement. I spend the next few minutes thinking of ways to get around the mob but before I could devise an effective plan, the Zeta's begin running in different direction. The sisters of the Summer Society chase after them in fury, curses spewing from their lips.

I turn away, pressing my body against the tree as the enraged students rush pass me. Peeking out from my hiding place, I watch as the few Zeta's and Summer Sisters left usher the swim team away. Once the coast is clear, I race across the grass and into the gym. I stride down the halls, my eyes scanning for the sign of the swim department. Finally reaching my destination, I promptly enter the pool area. I jog to the edge of the Olympic pool and drop to my knees. I take a deep breath and pull up the sleeves of my denim jacket before dipping my hands into the water.

I close my eyes and begin to chant in my native language. _"Coventina I call to thee; accept my appeal and be presented unto me."_ I feel the magic flow through my fingers and into the pool. I open my eyes and pull my hands out of the small circle of water that bubbles and glows against stillness of water left untouched by my powers. Swirls of colors appear and the water calms, revealing the face of my grandmother.

Fairies are eternally beautiful. If anyone were to look at Coventina Clairborn, they would never assume that she is a grandmother. Humans expect wrinkles and greying hair as they grow older, however; the fae's features cease changing once they reach the prime of their maturity. My grandmother furrows her brows, her dark eyes filled with worry. _"Trinity, why did you use the Call of Succor? What is wrong?"_

_"Before I speak of my predicament, I ask that you promise to keep the contents of my call a secret. Do not speak a word of this to _anyone_; even Grandfather." _I tell her.

My grandmother narrows her eyes but I remain silent. Seeing that I will not speak without her acceptance of my plea, she sighs in resignation. _"I promise that I will not speak of your call to anyone."_

_"Thank you."_

_"Now tell me, what troubles you so granddaughter?"_

I wet my lips before explaining the events that have occurred since my arrival at Silas. As I go deeper into my tales, my grandmother's face clears of any emotion. My grandmother retains her cool expression as I finish.

_"Grandmother, what should I do? There has to be something that you can tell me. Information, advice, strate-"_ I begin listing only to be cut off.

_"Return home."_ She orders.

My eyes widen in shock. _"What?"_

_"Leave that school and return to your parents."_

_"But what abou-"_

_"Through your life I have supported your quest for the unknown and your fixation with humans; but do not ask me for this."_

_"Grandmother you don't understand."_

_"I understand that whatever lies inside that dreaded school is dangerous. I don't know what it is, nor do I care. You will return to your village, where it is safe. You got your wish to live among the humans; now it is time for you to return."_

_"How can you say that?! What about my friends?! I can't just leave them!"_ I say in disbelief. _"For my entire life, you have told me to do what I feel is right, to live the life that I want to-"_

_"And if you want to continue living; you will return to your village. You are Fae. You know that you will outlive every human you've ever met. This is not an option. As your Queen I order you to go home. I will be expecting a call from your parents upon your return."_ She says before her image dissipates, leaving me with only the reflection of my face in the water.

_I can't believe she did that. I can't believe that instead of helping me find a way to protect my friends, she's _forcing_ me to _abandon_ them._ I don't notice that I'm crying until a tear drops into the pool, disturbing the still water.

I never expected this. What I just witnessed was the complete _opposite_ of the woman I've admired since the day I was born. My Grandmother has always been by my side, offering aid and advice when needed. She's the one who taught me how to hold myself as a royal, yet fight as a warrior; who explained our people's history as well as encouraging me to learn the history of others.

I wouldn't even _be_ here if it wasn't for her. Even after the amount of begging I did last year, it was my _Grandmother_ who was able to convince my parents into letting me attend University._ "A hundred years is but a blink of an eye to Fae as old as we are. Trinity will only be gone for four. She sees time pass as if she were a human; let her enjoy her youth. She'll be there and back before you even notice."_ She said.

_Four years._ I scoff. _I haven't even been here for four months!_ With no reason to stay any longer, I sniff and rise to my feet. I fix my jacket before angrily wiping away my tears. I have bags to pack.

I make my way out of the pool area and into the hallway in a daze. _What will I say to Laura? To Perry or LaFontaine? _

I'm pulled out of my thoughts when I crash into someone as I turn the corner. I stumble back a bit as does whoever I collided with, dropping their bag in the process.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't know that anyone was here." A bell like voice says.

I look up and my world is turned upside down. Love. Consuming, absolutely _fated_ love. No longer do I yearn for anything other than her happiness and safety. Gravity no longer holds me to this earth; _she_ does. My heart hammers against my chest as I stare into the captivating brown eyes. _My mate._ My thoughts confirm. My _human_ mate.


	6. Her

Chapter Six: Her

_I've found my mate. My mate is _not_ Fae. My mate is _human_._ My mind repeats over and over again as I stare at the beauty in front of me. I take in the sight of her smooth olive skin, her damp chestnut hair, and the enchanting chocolate eyes that tied me to her.

"Are you okay?" She asks, snapping me out of my dreamy daze.

"I…I…uh…" I struggle. _Say something! _I internally shout at myself. _You're making a fool of yourself in front of your mate! Say something now!_ "Hi!"

"Hi." She smiles. "I'm sorry for bumping into you. I forgot my bag in the locker room. I didn't think that anyone would be here." My eyes drop to the small red gym bag on the floor. I crouch down and pick it up, handing it to the girl. "Thanks." She slings it over her shoulder.

I smile at her. "You're welcome. And no need to apologize. It was my fault; I wasn't paying attention to where I was going." _There! I spoke to her!_

She narrows her eyes at me for a moment before they widen in realization. "I know you!"

I look at her in confusion. "You do?" _How does she know me? I've never met her before. I would _know_ if I met my mate._

"Yeah." She nods. "You're from the vlog that one girl posts."

"Laura." I provide. "You watch the vlog?"

She shakes her head. "No; but a friend of mine does. I remember seeing you in one of them."

"Oh. Well, my name is Trinity." I hold out my hand. _Please take it, please take it, please take it. _Sparks run through my body when her soft hand takes mine.

"Mia." She tells me. I shake her hand before reluctantly letting go. "Um, I hope you don't mind me asking; but what are doing here? I've never seen you around her before and you're not really dressed for exercising."

I look down at my blue flower print sundress and strappy silver sandals before looking back up. "I uh, just got a little turned around."

She raises an eyebrow "So, you help your friend with a vlog about missing girls, but you walk around by yourself at night and get lost?"

_Well, that makes me sound stupid. _"What about you? You know that girls are going missing and you're here too."

"I can take care of myself."

"Well so can I." I defend.

"Okay." She says, but I can see a hint of skepticism in her eyes. "Why don't I show you the way back to the dorms." She suggests."

I smile at her again. "Thank you."

"No problem. Let's go." She guides me out of the gym and we leisurely make our way back to the dorms. "So, is this your first year?"

I nod. "Yeah. I major in computer science and technology. You?"

"I'm a freshman too; majoring in pre-med."

_Freshman. Great, that means we're in the same dorms. _"You want to be a doctor?"

"Mmhmm. My dad's one. He used to take me to work with him all the time when I was a kid. Pretty soon I knew what I wanted to do when I grew up. What about you? How did you get into computers?"

"I grew up very…sheltered. There was only a small library in my town. I've read every book in it. I wanted to know more, to _learn _more. I learned how to use a computer, which gave me access to an extreme amount of information. I've loved them ever since."

"Why do you want to learn so much?" She asks.

I shrug my shoulders. "I don't really know. Ever since I was young, I was always curious about the world around me. The history, the culture, the people…it's just how I've always been."

"What do you want to do when you graduate?"

_Now _that's _a question. My parents expect me to go to University and return home, but to actually pursue a career or start a life? Then again, with my mate being a human; it's something that they will have to get used to. _"Maybe a data analyst or a software designer." I answer. "What medical field do you want to work in?"

"I don't know yet. So far, I'm leaning towards general but that could change over time."

I hold in a sigh as we finally approach the dormitory. "I guess this is our stop." I pull open the door and let her walk in before following after her.

"I guess it is." She turns to look at me. "What dorm do you stay in?"

"308."

Her eyes widen a bit. "Really?"

"Yes." I nod.

"But uh…I heard…" She falters.

_Oh. _"You heard about all the transfers." I surmise.

"It's just…you seem so different from what I've heard."

"Thank you, I guess." I tell her. "People don't really seem to get along well with me. I didn't have a lot in common with my previous roommates and we just clashed. Now I stay in the dorm by myself."

She nods. "Cool. That you have a dorm to yourself I mean, not that people don't get along with you."

"Yes."

She looks at one of stairwells before looking back to me. "I guess I'll see you around sometime?"

I nod. "Sure. Thank you for walking me here."

"No problem." She adjusts the strap of her bag. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight." She turns away and begins walking up the stairs. Once her figure disappears I turn and begin walking up the stairs leading to my dorm hall. Once I'm in my room I drop into my desk chair and place my head in my hands. _I've found my mate. Her name is Mia._

I only then realize that I never asked for her full name, or her dorm number, or her favorite color, or food. I need to find out more about her. I boot up my computer and hack into the student directory. I pull up the freshman files and see the long list of names. _I met her in the gym and her hair was still wet. She must be on the swim team. _I narrow my search down to first year athletes and pull up the women's swim team roster; luckily for me it includes pictures. I scroll down the list and stop at the sight of Mia's image. My brows furrow in confusion at the name though; Candace Pierce. _But she told me that her name was Mia. _I click on the picture, which brings up her stats.

Name: Candace Pierce

Year/Class: Freshman

Event(s): Freestyle

Hometown: Richmond, Virginia

Height: 5'6 (168 cm)

Weight: 55 kg (122 lbs)

_There must be more information than this. _With her full and apparently _real _name I'll be able to find more on her. I bring up a new window and begin to type before my fingers freeze. Should I be doing this? It would be an invasion of privacy to look up everything about her. She's my mate. Should I find out everything I can now and charm her with my knowledge or let her tell me everything herself? _If she even wants to talk to me again. Not only did she lie about her name, but now she knows that I'm the dorms resident 'weirdo'. Who know what people have been saying about me? _I rub my eyes before closing the windows and shutting off my computer.

I stand from my seat and walk the short distance to my bed before lying down. I stare at the ceiling, thinking of the beautiful brunette that has enchanted me. I am snapped out of my thoughts by the sight of sunlight beginning to trickle through my curtains. I stand up and pull them open before taking out my watering pot and tend to the plants at the window sill. By the time I'm finished, the sun has completely risen.

After freshening up, I hastily throw on some jeans and a sweatshirt before striding from my room in determination.

I jog out of the dorms and towards the gym. I push through the doors and run the saltwater pool. Once again, I drop to my knees at the edge of the pool and stick my hands into the water.

"_Conventina I call to thee; for the matter of colloquy be presented unto me."_

The water bubbles and glows before the image of my grandmother appears. _"Trinity." _She greets. _"You must be calling to inform me of your leave. I know you do not wish to, but it is dangerous to interfere in the matters of other supernaturals. You will understand in time-"_

I cut her off. _"I'm not leaving."_

"_Excuse me?"_

"_I'm not leaving Silas University."_

"_I did not order you to leave as your grandmother but as your _Queen._ Do you understand the consequences of disobeying the order of a-"_

"_I know the consequences. I also know of the Joining Clause; I am not bound _to _or _by _anything that leads to potential endangerment or harm of my mate."_

My grandmother's face twists in confusion. _"What do you mean?"_

"_I've found my mate Grandmother."_

Her eyebrows rise in shock. _"You found another Fae there? Never the less; you must still return home, your mate will be welcomed as well."_

"_My mate will _not _be welcomed." _I argue.

"_Nonsense." _She dismisses._ "If they're from the kingdom of Fire or Air, Earth is your home. They cannot refuse your mate entrance into their territory."_

"_My mate is not fae!" _I tell her.

She looks at me, mystified. _"What?"_

"_My mate is human." _I reveal.

"_That can't be." _

"_It is. My mate is human and I am _not _leaving her here. You and I both know that she will never be welcomed in _any _kingdom and that I will never abandon her, even if it means risking my own life."_

"_A human?" _She shakes her head. _"No one has ever mated outside their species. Outside their element _yes, _but this is unheard of."_

"_Maybe this is why I wanted to travel into the human world so much. I was meant to meet her. It was fated." _I say. Coventina closes her eyes and stays silent. _"I'm not leaving her and I'm not forcing her to leave either."_

Coventina opens her eyes. _"Why didn't you tell me this earlier?"_

"_Because I've only just met her last night, after our conversation."_

"_How did she react? Did she feel the bond as well?"_

I shake my head. _"No. But she's human; it seems that they react differently from the Fae. They don't recognize their soulmate at first sight. It must be a thing that happens gradually."_

After a moment my grandmother sighs. _"There's nothing I can do to convince you to leave is there?"_

"_No. But you _can _help me find a way to protect her from whatever is happening."_

My grandmother nods. _"I've never heard of what you described to me, but I will send what I can. Give me time; I will have something for you when we speak again."_

"_Thank you Grandmother."_

"_Now, tell me the name of my future granddaughter in law."_

_Which one? _I think sardonically before speaking. _"Mia."_

"_Is she beautiful?"_

"_Very." _I smile for a brief moment before it dies. _"What if she rejects me?"_

"_It was fated that you be together. Do not fret."_

I nod. _"Okay. Thank you Grandmother."_

"_Think nothing of it. I apologies for my behavior the last time we spoke. I only want you to be safe."_

"_I know. But I can take care of myself, you taught me how to."_

"_That I did." _She smiles._ "Goodbye Trinity."_

"_Goodbye Grandmother." _With that, her image dissipates. I stand up and walk back into the hall. As I begin to make my way out of the building, I hear someone call my name.

"Trinity?" I turn around and see Mia or _Candace _standing by the locker room entrance, her gym bag slung over her shoulder. "What are you doing here?"

"I…uh…" I shrug. "Just walking around."

"In the gym?" She asks skeptically.

"I like the water."

"But you don't swim?" She looks at my outfit.

"I don't have a bathing suit." I hold up my slightly wet hands. "But I still like the feel of it." I dry my hands on my shirt. "What are you doing here?"

"I wake up early to do a few laps before class." She says.

"Oh." I struggle to find something to say. "Um, have a good day then." I turn to leave.

"Hey!" She calls, making me turn back. "If you have time, I have an extra suit in my locker…maybe we can swim together."

I actually have a class in half an hour, but if I have to choose between spending time with my mate or math 101; it's obvious what choice I'd make. For the first time in my student career, I'm skipping class. At least I'll be the only one who knows I did. I'll change my attendance log later. "Sure." I say. "I'd love to."

She smiles at me. "Cool." She opens the locker room door and holds it open.

"Thank you." I walk in and she follows after me. She leads me through the rows of lockers and stops at one. I look at the tag above it and see Candace P. "Candace?" I ask, wanting to know why she told me her name was Mia.

She grimaces. "It's my first name but I don't like it that much. The only people who call me that are my family. I go by my middle name instead; Mia."

I release a breath I didn't know I was holding. _She wasn't lying to me. _"It's a pretty name. Both of them are."

Her eyes shine as she smiles again. "Thank you, Trinity; if that's your name?" She jokes.

I nod. "Trinity is my first name. My middle name is Ava."

"Pretty." She nods before sticking her hand out. "Let me reintroduce myself. Hi, my name is Candace Mia Pierce, just call me Mia."

I take her hand and shake it. "Pleased to meet you, I'm Trinity Ava Clairborn, just call me Trinity."

"It's nice to meet Trinity." She grins before dropping my hand and turning to her locker, twisting the combination in and opening it. After a few moments of searching around she pulls out a red one piece swimsuit. "Here." She holds it out. "We look about the same size, it should fit."

I take the bathing suit from her. "Thank you."

"No problem." She says before pulling her shirt over her head. My eyes widen at the sight of her tan stomach and purple bra. I quickly turn around, looking away from her. "What's wrong?"

I stare at the end of the hall. "I don't to intrude on your privacy."

I hear her chuckle. "Trinity its fine, we're both girls; it's okay to change in front of each other." I nod but continue to face away. "If you feel uncomfortable, you can change around the corner." She suggests.

I slowly turn around and my eyes dart between her body and the walls of the room. "No, it's fine."

She tilts her head. "Are you sure?"

I nod. "I'm sure." I say before beginning to undress.

"Okay." Mia says before she continues undressing as well.

I change as quickly as possible since I can't seem to keep myself from stealing glances of Mia's body. Once I'm finished, I fold up my clothes and place them on the bench.

A warm tan hand bumps into mine. "Here, let me take those." Mia picks up my clothes and places them in her locker.

I look at her and see that she is wearing a matching swimsuit to the one that she gave me. "Thank you."

She closes the locker. "Let's get going." She says and we walk out of the locker room. "Were you a swimmer in high school?"

"No. I was homeschooled, but we had a lake nearby. I would swim there during the summer." _And during spring, summer, and winter, considering that I needed to enter the lake to get to my house._

"Have you ever been in an Olympic pool?"

I shake my head. "No, is it different?"

"It's chlorinated." She says. "It's a little harsh on the skin at first so you'll have to shower after swimming in it, but we can use the freshwater pool if you want to?"

"Which pool do you use?"

"We use the chlorinated pool for practice and meets."

"Then that is where we will swim."

Mia nods and leads the way to the chlorinated pool. I look around the larger room, seeing the rows of stands that line the walls opposite to each other. "What pool room were you in earlier?" Mia asks.

"Saltwater."

"Why?"

"I like the smell. It reminds me of my grandmother's home."

"Where does she live?"

"Bermuda." _Kinda._

"Really? It must be beautiful there."

I nod. "It is. Where are you from?"

"I was born in America. I lived in Virginia until I was thirteen before my dad was offered a job at a hospital in Germany. What about you? You have such a pretty accent."

_It's the language of the Fae. The dialect of the Water sprites sound musical compared to others of our race. _"I was born in Bermuda. My mother happened to be visiting while she was pregnant, but my home is here in Austria. I guess I get my accent from travelling back and forth while I was growing up."

"It's nice." She smiles and stands at the edge of the pool. "Do you just want to do your own thing or race?"

"Do you want to race?"

She looks at me with a glint in her eyes. "Do you think you can beat me?" She teases.

I dip a toe into the water and hold back a grimace at the feeling of chemicals. "Let's see." I accept the challenge. We take our place on the starting board.

"To the end and back?" Mia offers. I nod in agreement and we both bend down. "Before you reach the end of the pool, flip forwards and kick off the wall." She advises. "3…2…1…Go!" We launch ourselves into the pool.

I smoothly glide through the water, the end of the pool quickly coming closer. I flip forward and push my feet against the wall, propelling my body forward. I make my way back to where we started touch the wall before surfacing. I look back to see Mia in the middle of the pool, quickly swimming back towards the starting point.

Mia surfaces when she reaches the end of the pool and looks at me with wide eyes. "How'd you do that?"

"Do what?" I asks, confused.

"Are you kidding me? Do you realize how fast you went?"

_I was fast? But I was holding back. _"I was just swimming."

"Trinity, I'm the second best on the team and the _captain _barely beat me. Why don't you join the team, they'll _have_ to let you after seeing you in the water."

I shake my head. It wouldn't be fair of me to join; I would beat everyone I go up against easily. "Swimming is just something I like to do in my free time."

"Are you sure?" She asks.

I nod. "I am. I just like being in the water. It's like being-" I stop myself but Mia fills the silence.

"Home." She says, making me look at her in surprise.

"Yes. It's like being home."

"That's exactly how I feel." She says with a soft smile on her face. "I don't know why, but something about water always seems to make me feel better, like I was-"

"At peace."

She nods. "Yeah." She stares at me for a moment before shaking her head. "Best two out of three?"

"Do you think you can beat me?" I repeat her tease from earlier.

* * *

><p>After swimming a few more laps we return to locker room to shower, fortunately for me, there were private stalls. Once we're dressed, Mia and I make our way out of the gym.<p>

"So, uh…do you want to do this again tomorrow?" She asks.

"I'd love to." I nod, beaming at her.

She returns the smile. "Great. I guess I'll meet you say about…6:30?"

"I'll be there."

She begins backing away. "See you then." She says before turning around and walking off to class.

_I guess I better get used to skipping math. _I think. _I'll make sure to get whatever homework and test from the teacher's file. _I know it's wrong to you my hacking abilities in such a way, but it's my mate and she's so much more important than some silly numbers.

_I need to get my things for English class. _I walk back to the dorms with a blissful smile on my face, counting the seconds until I could see Mia again.


	7. Help

Chapter Seven: Help

Over the next several days, I continue to meet Mia at the gym in the morning to swim. We've shared things with each other. She told me about her parents and her younger brother; Charlie. I've told her about my life before school. Obviously not the magical fairy stuff but about how I was raised in the woods and slowly introduced to society. She understands why people found me a little strange, but she also seemed mad that they chose to judge me and leave without giving me a chance. I was touched that she cared.

But something was different about today's session. Mia seemed distracted the whole time. Her mind seemed to be somewhere else. I'm worried about what might be bothering her, but I don't want to pry. After showering and getting dressed, we make our way out of the gym.

"I'll see you tomorrow." I smile.

Mia grimaces. "About that…"

"Yeah?"

"Have you been…skipping class to meet me here?"

_How does she know that? _"I, uh…"

She must see the answer on my face and sighs. "Trinity, you shouldn't do that."

"It's fine." I assure, not wanting to miss time with my mate. "I'm already ahead of everything."

"When does your class start?"

"Mia, it's nothing-"

"When?"

"7 o'clock." I sigh.

"Why didn't you just tell me that you had a class?"

"Because we were hanging out, and besides it's just math, since I can easily take care of everything-"

"You shouldn't hack your grades or attendance Trinity. We could've just found another time to get together."

_So I wanted to spend as much time with my mate as possible; sue me. _"How did you find out?"

"One of the girls on the swim team was talking about how 'the chick from the terror dorm wasn't showing up'." She explains. "Trinity, I know you're not use to having friends but it's okay to say no to me. You shouldn't put aside important things just to spend time with me."

_What kind of mate would I be if I said no to you? _"So we won't be able to hang out anymore?"

Her brows furrow in confusion. "What? No, it just means that we have to find time in our schedules to meet up. Like…what are you doing tonight?"

I shrug. "Nothing, I'm usually in my dorm room after classes end."

"Well, why don't we meet in the caf for dinner?"

I nod. "Sure. I'd like that."

She smiles. "So I'll see you tonight?"

"Yeah." I smile.

She begins to back away. "No more skipping classes." She says before continuing onto class.

I anxiously wait for my classes to end. This is the first time I'll be able to spend time with my mate more than once a day. What makes it even worse is that dinner isn't served until 6 o'clock. Should I show up at right away or wait a little while for the crowd to fill in? We didn't set a time. How do I know when to meet her when we didn't set a time? My leg bounces up and down as I count the seconds on the clock. I bite my lip as the red hand ticks closer to the twelve. Finally, the bell rings and I quickly gather my things before rushing out of the class.

Once I'm in my dorm room, I begin to search through my clothes before freezing. _Should I change my clothes? It's just dinner in the cafeteria. What if I change my clothes and she thinks that I'm weird for dressing up for different meals? I'd have to lie and tell her that I spilled something on myself. _I groan. _Then she'll think I'm a messy person, who's she's about to share dinner with. _I continue to debate on whether or not to change clothes before finally settling with staying dressed. Instead, I remove the clothes I'm wearing and iron the wrinkles out of them. Once I'm finished, I redress and brush my hair. Checking the time, I'm shocked to see the clock read 5:50. I check my appearance in the mirror one last time before heading to the cafeteria.

I walk into the cafeteria and the scan the few faces around the room. _Mia's not here. I showed up to early. Should I wait by the door or at a table? Should I get food for her? What if it's cold by the time she gets here? _I panic. This is so much more difficult than our morning swim sessions. What do I talk to her about? I have to admit, I feel a lot more confident in the water. What if she doesn't like how I am on normal basis?

I wait by the entrance of the cafeteria, scanning the passing faces and check my phone; 6:10. It's still early. _What if she wanted to catch a late dinner? Should I leave? _I put my phone away.

"Trinity!" I hear an angelic voice call. I look up and see Mia lightly jogging towards me. She reaches me and fixes the purse on her shoulder. "Sorry I'm late; I got caught up with a few girls from the swim team."

"It's okay, I haven't been waiting long." I assure her. "There are still a lot of tables free."

"Great." She smiles and we walk in. "So should we see what they're serving today, stick to the salad bar, or just raid the deserts table?"

"I usually eat from the salad bar and buy a drink from the vending machine."

"Me too." She says. "I don't really want to chance trying whatever's in the mystery meat."

"Why does the meat have to be a mystery? What's wrong with revealing what animal it came from?" I ask.

"I know, right!" She agrees as we grab our trays and dining utensils. "Either we try it and are pleasantly surprised that it's just beef, or find out it's some new species created by the alchemy club."

I pile fruit into my bowl and place a container of salad beside it. "It's strange how no one seems to monitor their experiments."

"It's strange that the university still _funds_ the department after how many accidents they have." After swiping our meal cards, we find a secluded table by a wall and set our things down.

"Do you want anything from the vending machine?" I ask.

"Oh, I can get it mys-"

"I don't mind." I interrupt her.

"I'll take a lemonade." She gives in.

I nod. "I'll be right back." I make my way across the room to one of the many vending machines. I buy myself an ice tea and Mia's lemonade. I begin to return to our spot but stop at the desert table, scanning their choices. _Maybe we can share something? Should I get a brownie or a chocolate cake? Does she even like chocolate? _Not wanting to take too long, I quickly grab a slice of cake and two forks. I walk back to our table and set the items down.

"Cake?" Mia asks.

"I got two forks if you want to share."

"Sure."

I smile and take my seat. When spend the next few minutes in silence, awkwardly picking at out meals, not knowing what to talk about. _Come on, say something. _I scold myself.

"So are you a vegetarian?"

The question snaps me out of my thoughts? "Hmm?"

"You didn't choose any meat options for your salad. Are you a vegetarian?" Mia asks.

"No." I shake my head. "I'm still getting used to eating something that's not my mother's cooking."

"What does she usually cook?"

"She makes great smoked venison. People loved it at the town potluck."

"Did she _buy_ the meat or did you guys…" She trails off.

"What?"

"Um, did you hunt it?" She asks.

"My father did." I answer. Earth fae hunting techniques are very different from humans. Instead of tracking them down and slaughtering them, the fae use their powers to lure them to a ritual sacrifice. It sounds dark, but it's actually quite beautiful.

The Earth fae don't trick their prey or influence their emotions; they use their ability to communicate to explain what their sacrifice would mean to the world and the place they take in nature. Once convinced, the animal will walk to the ritual sight and lie down in the circle. They agree to give their meat to us, feeding our hungry stomachs, to provide us with the warmth of their fur and hide. To let their remains feed the earth and its creatures; knowing that they are not truly gone, because they are now a part of everyone.

Mia and I continue to make conversation through our meal. She picks up a fork and takes a bite of the chocolate cake. "Mmm." She closes her eyes for a moment and opens them. "This is better than I expected." She breaks off another piece with her fork and holds it out to me. "Try."

_She wants to share forks too? _I lean forward and accept the bite. Hmm, it seems I've finally found something to enjoy in the Silas cafeteria. "It's good." I smile. "If you like that, you should try the sweets my mother sends in her care packages."

"You'll have to invite me over to your dorm sometime." She smiles, leaning forward in her seat.

I can't make out the look in her eyes. Before I am able to say anything, my cellphone rings. I startle slightly, not expecting anyone to contact me. The look in Mia's eyes fade and she leans back in her seat. "I'm sorry." I apologize and check my phone, surprised to see a text message from LaFontaine.

**Me and Laura trapped in library. Danny on her way. Bring a weapon. –LaF**

I glance out a window, my eyes widen when I see that it's just after sunset. I jump up from my seat.

"What is it?" Mia asks in concern.

I look at her. "I'm so sorry, but I have to go." With no time to explain, I rush out of the cafeteria and towards the library. On my way there, I spot a tall red headed figure sprinting across campus with a fire extinguisher in her hand. I follow after Danny, grabbing a metal baseball bat sticking out of a boy's bag.

"Hey!" He cries out.

"I'm sorry!" I yell as I pass him. "I'll return it later!"

* * *

><p>Later that night, I sit on Laura's bed while Danny paces back and forth, scolding the sheepish duo and Perry treats their scraped skin.<p>

"You should've never gone out that late!" Danny chides.

"I know." Laura bashfully agrees.

"And without telling anyone!"

"I know! We're sorry, we're sorry!" Laura looks at the camera. "For everyone just catching up at home, it's been an…exciting evening. LaFontaine and I crashed the Faculty Club."

"Brilliantly disguised as a young visiting professor and research assistant." LaFontaine adds.

"Sadly, our cover was blown before we could get to the dean because _somebody_," She glares at LaF and turns back to the camera. "decided to get into an argument with the head of gnostic mathematics about the long-term strategic plan for the _Illuminati_."

"It was a chance to raise awareness." They defend.

Laura leans forward. "But as we were being bodily dragged from the Club, I snatched victory from the jaws of total failure by snatching this," She holds up a framed picture of six women. "off the wall. This is the dean's special council meeting in 1954. So," She points to the image of Carmilla. "is that Carmilla's grandmother, great aunt…? There's no names on the back of the photo. But there was one way to find out…"

"Oh, sure." Danny cuts in, walking forward and bending down to look into the camera. "You know, tell it like this insane plan that the pair of you hatched was the next logical step. You know what this girl did? At 6:48 PM?" She gestures and looks between Laura and Lafontaine. "These two geniuses decided to hit up the _library_."

"Which I admit, in retrospect, was not the most brilliant idea." The blonde says. Perry comes from behind her and hands her a mug of got chocolate. "Thanks."

"Everything in your fridge is made of glucose and palm oil." She hands a mug to LaFontaine. "I'm surprised you don't have scurvy." The Floor Don says, taking a seat on Carmilla's bed.

"I know, but delicious cookies?" Laura tells her before turning back to the camera. "Everything was fine! At first…" She trails off. "As soon as we got there, everyone was leaving the building… And yes, as the sun went down, we started to hear something…"

"Skittering?" LaF offers.

"Yeah, skittering in the stacks, you know? Just beyond your periphery. But we made it into the first subbasement just fine." She gestures and looks at her partner in crime.

They nod. "The online system was _really_ helpful. It gave us a cross reference before I even started typing."

"So we found most of the textbooks before, uh, between 19-"

"Before you realized the staircase wasn't in the same place anymore?" Danny interrupts the journalist.

Laura sighs. "Before we realized we might have gotten a _little_ turned around." She turns to Danny, only to be met with a hard glare. She turns back to the camera with a guilty look on her face. "And that most of the computer monitors we could see were warning us to '_Run_. Run now'. And the skittering was getting closer."

"Which is when it became apparent that some of the books were, well, airborne. And," they drag out the word. "that the card catalogue was attacking us. A copy of 'Absalom, Absalom!' tried to slice open my left wrist. Ruined Faulkner for me." They notice the flapping page pinned to a book and hits the butt of the knife. The paper stops moving.

"So, we did what any normal person would do if they were caught in a flying vortex of modern literature and index cards from the 1970s." Laura nods.

"We created a flamethrower using a lighter and some mace Laura's dad gave her."

"Which left us trapped in a flaming vortex."

"Yeah…" LaF says.

"I get a text that says: Come quick. Stuck in library. Bring _fire extinguisher_." Danny cuts in.

I nod and speak up. "I got one from LaF saying: me and Laura trapped in library. Danny on her way. Bring a weapon."

"Why did you text her anyway?" Danny asks the shorter redhead.

"I thought her wilderness skills would come in handy." They say and look at the camera. "Which they did. Forest girl here," They gesture back at me. "shows up with a baseball bat and goes _wild_ on the flying books. Nothing could get close to us."

"But the fire was still spreading." Danny tells them.

"Okay, yes, but it turned out fine." Laura says. "The sprinklers came on and we snuck out a basement window."

"Oh, yeah, with god knows what on your heels…"

"Okay, yes! It was stupid, and we're lucky that you didn't have to save our souls. Now, can we please skip to the part where once every twenty years, like clockwork, this girl shows up at Silas." She brings up a black and white picture of Carmilla in the middle of a group of girls. "Mircalla Karnstein." She brings up another picture of Carmilla at a party. "Arcillma Karnstein." She brings up another picture. "Mircalla-" She groans. "Ugh, seriously, she just keeps switching around the letters in her name like nobody's ever heard of an anagram. And every time she does, a bunch of girls go missing. Poof. Vanish. Never seen again. I mean, I know it sounds crazy, but she's nocturnal. She's so strong. She's at least 80 years old and she drinks blood-"

"Well, yeah. We know she's a vampire. I mean, we've known that since the blood in the milk container, right?" LaFontaine says, looking at the rest of us. "Vampire, vampire, vampire, yeah?"

Laura looks at us in disbelief. "You all knew I was living with a vampire and nobody said anything?"

"You really didn't know?" LaF asks.

"I knew." I say. I'm surprised that Laura didn't know all this time, with all the shows she watches and books she reads, I thought it would've been obvious after finding the blood in the milk container.

"See." LaF gestures towards me. "Even the girl who doesn't understand sarcasm knew that your roommate was a vampire."

Before I can correct LaFontaine, Danny speaks. "I didn't know!"

"I thought you were just playing it cool, you know? Didn't wanna seem all speciesist." LaFontaine says.

"Speciesist?" Laura asks, not even sure if that's a word. She turns to look at me. "And what about you?"

I shrug. "I figured that she was just attending school here. She's immortal and the world keeps changing, maybe she came so she can stay up to date."

"She's not a vampire." Perry says. "There's no such thing as vampires. She's a light averse octogenarian with extreme hemoglobin deficiency and really good skin." She sees our looks of skepticism. "I'm gonna go and make some more hot chocolate." She stands up and walks over to the kitchen area.

"So, something is taking girls and the ones that have come back have gone full on Lucy from Dracula and you don't think my roommate being a vampire is, I don't know, pertinent information?" Laura asks.

"Well, when you put it that way…" LaF says.

"And I'm next! She's making with the creepy dreams and the charms…"

"And the seduction eyes…"

That seems to get Danny's attention. "Seduction eyes?"

"I am totally next!" Laura continues, not hearing Danny. She moves her hair to the side. "Quick, check my neck! Is there anything on my neck?!" LaF looks at the skin.

Perry looks as well and pats her shoulder. "There's nothing on your neck, Laura. You're fine."

"Oh my gosh. She's a vampire. My roommate is an honest to Lestat _vampire_. How do we _stop_ a vampire?" The blond asks.

Danny quickly finds on her phone. "Staking, decapitation, immolation. Uh, there's something here about driving an iron needle through her heart." She looks up. "You know, normally I'm not into this kind of stuff, but in the case of 'seduction eyes' I could definitely warm up to the thought."

I look at my friends. _What will they do if they find out about me?_

Perry stands up. "No! n-n-n-n-n-n-no! We can't immolate everyone that Su-" She cuts herself off. "LaFontaine thinks is a supernatural creature."

"Just the ones that are flammable." LaF says.

"Because only nutbars make plans to set people on fire without proof of anything. Does Salem ring a bell?"

"We have plenty of proof. Do you wanna put some soy milk into my cocoa? I'm feeling a little anaemic."

Laura shakes her head. "No, she's right. Perry. Even if we can turn Carmilla into a vampire bonfire, we still wouldn't be able to figure out what she's done with Betty or the other missing girls. We don't need her dead!" She rolls her eyes. "Or, dead_er_. We need her _trapped_. We need a way to get some answers."

"Okay, so how do we trap a vampire?" Danny asks, hands on her waist.

After a moment, LaFontaine speaks up. "Well, I have an idea." They turn to Danny. "But you're not gonna like it."

"What?"

"Well, we use something she wants to lure her into a rope net or a room full of garlic. We'll have to figure out that second part."

"Okay, so what do you…what do we use as bait in this case?"

"Well, uh…" They grimace before looking at the blond. "Laura."

Unsurprisingly, Laura agrees to be used as bait for Carmilla.

I watch LaFontaine begin handing possible weapons to Laura, wondering what they'd be able to do with a wooden spoon, a stapler, and a frosting spreader.

Danny gathers her long hair into a ponytail. "Okay, explain to me again how offering yourself as bait is to your bloodsucking roommate is not the _worst plan ever_ devised by womankind."

"You think I'm excited about it? We have been following her for a week and we still have no idea how or where she is taking these girls. And LaFontaine's plan is the only one that we've got." Laura tells her.

"Well, the fact that a terrible plan is our only plan is not really a selling point."

"I'm sorry. Are we still really talking about all of this as though a vampire is really more likely than, I don't know, just some guy putting something in girls' drinks?" Perry offers.

"We don't know she isn't doing that too." LaFontaine says.

"You guys know that I can hear you, right? Maybe instead of peanut gallery-ing you can help me figure out how we trap a vampire." Laura pulls out a bag full of spray cans. "How do we feel about bear spray?"

"Probably not." LaF says. "Side note: you planning on invading a _bear_ sanctuary?"

"My dad's really into personal protection."

"I can see that."

I tune the discussion out. _They're reacting this way about Carmilla, what would they do if they were to ever find out about me? What would Mia do if she found out about me?_

I don't realize that I've become so immersed in thoughts about my mate, that I missed the Zeta's coming by and agreeing to aid Laura in capturing Carmilla. It took Perry touching my shoulder to snap me out of my worries and telling me that it's time to return to our dorms.

* * *

><p>With a plan to capture Carmilla in the works, I decide to head to the gym and check to see if grandmother has any information for me. If Laura's wrong and Carmilla <em>isn't<em> the one taking the girls, then who is?

I perform the contact spell and my grandmother's face appears in the water.

"_Grandmother." _I greet with a smile. _"Have you found anything?"_

Coventina shakes her head. _"Unfortunately no. But I do want you to have these." _She begins chanting and the water begins to bubble and glow harshly. A satchel begins to appear and I take it from the pool. My grandmother stops chanting and catches her breath.

I open the satchel, finding a thick book, a water skin, and a solid blue water crystal. I open the book and flip through it, seeing the symbols of the fae.

"_I've given you a book of Fae spells. I've taught you enough that you should be able to make use of them. Some are more complicated than others, so study them well."_ Coventina explains. I set the book aside and pick up the ring. _"That is the ring of the southern water warriors. All you need to do is send a bit of power into it and it will turn into a sword." _I set the ring down and pick up the water skin. My grandmother sighs. _"I hope that you never have to use that; it is filled with the healing waters from the oasis of the northern water kingdom. It can bring one back from the brink of death."_

"_Thank you Grandmother."_

"_I need no thanks. I only ask that you stay safe._

I nod. _"I will."_

"_And Trinity? If you will not tell your parents of your predicament, at least tell them of your mate. They worry about you."_

"_I will Grandmother." _I forgot about my parents. Between Mia and the missing girls, I haven't been keeping in contact as much as I promised.

"_Until next time." _My grandmother says and her image dissipates.

I make my way back to my dorm and place the satchel under my bed. I collapse onto the mattress and close my eyes, thinking of the days to come.


	8. Plan

Chapter Eight: Plan

The next day as I make my way across the quad I'm stopped by the sound of my name being called. I recognize the voice immediately and turn to seek out the beauty.

"Trinity!" Mia jogs up to up to me. "Hey." She pants.

I smile at her. "Hey."

"I was uh, I was just wondering…"

"Yes?"

"I know you don't really go to parties, but there's this luau thing tonight."

I nod. "The Zeta's are throwing it; are you going?"

"Yeah and I was just thinking, you had bad experiences at parties before…maybe it would be different if you knew someone there?"

"Are you asking me to go?"

"No! I mean, yeah I am. I just thought we could hang out together since our last meet up was interrupted."

_On account of me having to save my friends from flying, fiery books. _"I'm sorry about that."

She shakes her head. "It's no problem. So…what do you say?"

I blink. "Yes! I'll go to the party."

She beams at me. "Great. I guess I'll see you there."

I nod. "You will."

She shifts from foot to foot. "I'll just let you get to class then. Bye."

"Goodbye." I smile and watch her walk away before it occurs to me what I just agreed to. _The plan! We're supposed to capture Carmilla tonight. _As if I didn't have enough anxiety already, it basically skyrocketed at the fact that I just agreed to spend time with my mate again. Not only will she be at the party, but now I have to keep her occupied and away from any potential danger the plan may bring. I groan and continue on to class.

* * *

><p>Later that evening, I stand in front of my wardrobe, wondering what to wear. <em>I don't want to be in a dress if I happen to be in a fight.<em> I move push the hanger aside. _I know better than to wear a white top around frat boys. _I push that aside as well. I finally settle on wearing a blue spaghetti strap tank top and jean shorts with strappy silver sandals. I walk over to my bed and crouch down; pulling out the satchel grandmother gave me from underneath it. I flip it open and search around for a few moments before my hand finally clutches the small object. I stare at the water crystal ring and sigh, hoping that I won't have to use it anytime soon.

I try to brush aside my worry, thinking of my conversation with my parents earlier today. Luckily for me, I was able to reach my mother while she was at the restaurant and dad was on his lunch break, which made the conversation as short as possible. After the shock of mating with a human wore off, I found myself being scolded for telling my grandmother before them, my mother quickly gave me her 'special' brownie recipe. I had to repeatedly explain to her that I will not use fairy dust to lure my mate to me.

After making sure that the satchel was safely tucked away, I lock the door to my room before making my way to Laura's.

I knock on the door and seconds later it is cracked open before I am fully pulled in by a pale arm that belongs to LaFontaine. "'bout time you got here." They say. I look around the room and see Perry sitting on Laura's bed while Danny stands near the bathroom door.

"Where's Laura?" I ask.

"Getting dressed." Danny grumbles. It's obvious that she is still unhappy with this plan.

"I still think this is crazy." Perry says.

LaFontaine scoffs. "Do you have any other ideas on how to catch a vampire?"

"Carmilla is not a _vampire_, she's just-"

The argument is interrupted by the opening of the bathroom door. Laura steps out, dressed in a white, off the shoulder, floor length gown with ruffles. We stare at her in silence.

"So…" She drags out. "What do you think?"

"Perfect." LaF nods with a grin on her face.

"You look like you're about to flee your brooding lover across the moors." Danny tells her.

"It's a lovely dress." Perry shrugs.

Laura turns to me. "Trinity?"

"If your father were a king; you would be the perfect virgin daughter to offer to potential suitors." I stammer, not wanting to accidentally insult her.

"Oh…thanks?" She says, slightly baffled.

"Remember the plan; you head to the party and play it cool for a while before leading vampirella away to the Zeta ambush." LaF explains.

"Got it." Laura nods.

"We'll see you there. Let's go guys." LaF opens the door and holds it open. Perry stands from the bed and walks out. I begin to follow after her.

Danny hangs back for a bit. "Stay safe." She tells Laura before heading out as well.

Once we're out of the room, LaFontaine closes the door. As everyone heads their separate ways, I wring my fingers at the thought of seeing Mia at the party. _Here goes nothing._ I think before continuing on to the party.

* * *

><p>I look around the mass group of people, trying to avoid colliding with the drunken dancing bodies as I search for a familiar face. I find the drink table and grab a bottle of water. Music blares in the air and people begin to move faster to the song. I feel a tap on my shoulder and turn around.<p>

"Hey, you made it!" Mia smiles.

"Yeah." I glance at her figure, seeing the raspberry red flowing tube top, black shorts, and strappy black heels. I fight to stop my eyes from lingering on her long, smooth legs and look back up at her. "You look beautiful."

Mia's eyes drop and a blush tickles her cheeks. "Thanks. You too. I mean, you look great."

"Thank you." I smile. Once again, we fall into an awkward silence. "Do you want a lei?" I blurt out.

"Aren't they all gone?" She asks, looking around.

"I'm sure I'll find some." I tell her. "Stay right here." She nods and I begin to navigate my way through the crowd.

I scrunch my nose at the fake and plastic lei's that hang around the partygoer's necks. I break out of the crowd and find a shadowed spot on the lawn. I check for any wondering eyes before kneeling to the ground. I may not be a _full _earth fairy, but I'm still half. I place my hands on the ground and concentrate. After a moment, colorful flowers begin to grow and wrap themselves around my arms. I stop the flow of magic and remove my hands from the ground. I stand up, letting the colorful lei's fall from my arms and into my hands. I smile and place one around my neck before making my way back towards the party.

I return to find Mia waiting patiently where I left her. "For you." I hold up the lei.

She gasps. "These are beautiful. Where did you find them?"

"I have my ways." I try not to think about the lecture I would receive from my parents if they ever find out that I used my powers in public just to impress my mate.

"Will you…?" She motions, stepping closer to me. I slip the lie over her head and lift her soft brown hair from under it. She steps back and smiles at me. "Should we find somewhere to sit?"

Soon, we find a spot at the fire pit and chat, making conversation about anything and everything, even joking about the rivalry between the Zeta's and the Summer Society. Mia's eyes flicker over the crowd and the smile on her face dies.

I try to follow her gaze but cannot see whatever she is focused on. I look back to her. "What's wrong?"

She blinks and looks down, shaking her head. "It's nothing."

I continue to look at her in concern. "What?"

She seems to be contemplating whether or not to speak before sighing. "Do you see that guy over there; the one with the dark blond hair in the blue shirt?"

My eyes search the crowd not far away from us and lock on a scraggly haired boy at the beer pong table, a scantily clad girl on his arm. "Yes." I say, turning back to her.

"That's Max; my ex." Mia tells me.

I bury the surge of jealousy and focus on my mate. "What happened?"

Mia brushes her hair away from her face. "We met in tenth grade; he wasn't popular or anything, but we just _clicked_. We were high school sweethearts. We would've broken up when we graduated because we didn't think our relationship would survive the long distance, but when we found out that we were going to the same school we stayed together. The whole summer, all we talked about was what we were the things we'd do together once we got to college." She shakes her head and chuckles bitterly. "A month into the semester; he dumps me out of nowhere. He said he didn't want his experience to be ruined because he's weighed down by a girlfriend." She looks over back over at him. "I guess that was just code for 'wanting to be able to sleep with anyone he wanted to'."

I bravely place my hand on top of Mia's, bringing her attention back to me. "You are a kind, intelligent woman who's beautiful inside and out, and he is a fool for letting you go. You're going to find someone better than him. Someone who won't let a single _day _go by without letting you know how much they love you, and how _grateful _they are to be worthy of your love."

Through my speech, Mia's eyes soften and she continues to stare at me. Once I'm finished, she begins to lean in. I slowly go to meet her, but our moment is shattered by a hand landing on my shoulder.

"Time to go." LaFontaine grabs my arm and pulls me along.

I stumble after them in confusion when it occurs to me that I completely forgot about the plan. I turn back to look at Mia, but cannot see her around the moving bodies. Once we break away from the crowd, I notice Danny and several Zeta's quickly making their way towards the dormitory.

* * *

><p>Everything quickly fades into a blur as my mind goes back to the near kiss with my mate. By the time that I'm snapped out of my thoughts, I try to ignore the pain in my back as Laura speaks to the camera, motioning to a bound and gagged Carmilla. Danny touches a forming bruise on her eye and LaFontaine holds a hand to the back of their head.<p>

"Vampire captured! Even though I was unable to text for help, in an unbelievably lucky series of events, Danny got worried about my crazed plan and came to check on me." She turns to the tall girl. "Thanks. How's your eye?"

Danny looks at Laura. "It's better now that you're safe."

"Also, I got my head smashed into a table, if anyone cares." LaF speaks up. "Trinity got kicked into the wall. And I'm pretty sure that Zeta guy Will has a fractured clavicle. I can't believe he went back to the party."

"Bumps and bruises and the dubious legality of holding someone hostage in their own room aside, I think this is cause for a little celebration. Guys, we did it!" Laura smiles before looking down at Carmilla. "And now that her reign of terror and _flirting_ is over, we'll unpod SJ and Natalie, we'll find Betty, and-" She is interrupted by the sound of a blood curdling scream. We turn our attention towards the door. "What was that?!" She says, turning back to us. "We caught her fair and square! There is not allowed to be some new horrible thing."

Suddenly, Kirsch burst into the room. "Laura! You gotta come quick. It's SJ and Natalie! I think somebody's trying to take them. I can't find Natalie and I think SJ's…I think she's dead!"

* * *

><p>Later on, Perry rubs Laura's shoulder and Kirsch sits on Carmilla's bed with his head down. I sit on Laura's bed in solemn silence.<p>

"I don't understand. We caught her. This shouldn't be happening. Natalie shouldn't be missing and Sarah Jane shouldn't be…" Laura trails off.

The door opens and Danny and LaFontaine walk in.

"Well, you were right." Danny says, holding up two pieces of paper. "These stupid cards were there in both their dorms."

"And I took a bunch of samples." LaF holds up their syringe. "We'll figure out what the sludge is."

Danny looks at Kirsch. "It looks like the plan was to take both of them, so maybe what happened to Sarah Jane was an accident."

"She fell." Kirsch says.

Laura looks at him. "What?"

"We were all watching the fire from the third floor balcony. And then…and she kept asking me to go to the party…and I kept telling her 'babe, we're at the party'. And then…and then we noticed Natalie went missing, and-and everyone went to look for her. Except SJ, because well, I was worried about her, so I told her to stay put. And I locked the door and she should've been safe. And then we heard her scream, and then…they've must've tried to take her and she must've fallen." He looks at the bound vampire. "Hey, why'd you do that to her, huh? What did she ever do to you?!" He takes her by the shoulders and shakes her.

Danny quickly steps in and pulls him away from her. "She wasn't there, okay? She wasn't there."

Kirsch wraps his arms around the tall girl. "Thanks so much, psycho. I'm gonna…you know, at times like these a dude needs to be with his bros." He strides out of the room. Danny closes the door behind him.

Laura sighs. "Oh my gosh. This is such a mess. What are we gonna do now?" Carmilla coughs, bringing our attention to her. "Oh, crap." She groans.

LaFontaine nods. "Yep. That is a dilemma."

"This day just keeps getting better and better." She looks at Perry, who frowns.

"Well, don't look at me. I didn't want to kidnap anyone to begin with!"

"Well, we can't just let her go! She still might be involved." Danny argues.

"Also, and I'm just throwing this out there, but it took, like, eight people to subdue her and she seems kinda angry." LaF adds.

"Right." Laura nods. "Definitely not untying angry vampire."

"You can't just keep a hostage in your dorm room, Laura! I mean, I know this is Silas, but somebody is bound to notice if you keep a girl trussed up in here for God knows how long." Perry says.

"You really think that, huh?" LaFontaine says, smiling at their friend's denial. "I could take her to the bio lab. I'm sure there's all sorts of things we could figure out through some minimally invasive probing." Laura and Perry send them strange looks. "_Or_ a voluntary questionnaire."

"We could take her to the summer society department. There's a storage room in the back…" Danny offers.

"No!" Laura says. "She's our only lead. She stays exactly where she is until she tells us what's going on and how she's involved. If we get caught, you guys can just blame me. Worst thing they can do is expel me, and by comparison, that's not seeming too dire."

"It'll seem dire once they start your tribunal." LaF tells her.

"My what now?"

"You _really_ need to read your student handbook." Our Floor Don advises.

"Okay, no. Focus." We huddle around Laura and Perry covers Carmilla's ears. "If we're gonna break her, we need to _girl the hell up_. United front. No mercy. Am I right?" She looks at each of us and we nod before backing away. "Okay." She looks at Carmilla. "Alright, vampire. We know that you've been stalking those girls and we know that…you're a vampire! So the sooner you 'fess up and tell us what's going on, the better this is gonna go for you because we have got a…spatula and a stapler and we are not afraid to use them, so you better start singin'!"

"Uh, Laura…she's still got the…" I gesture to Carmilla's mouth.

"Oh, right. Uh, maybe this will get you talking." She rips the tape off. "Ooh." She grimaces in sympathy before schooling her features. "So, spill. How do two more girls end up kidnapped and murdered when we've got you tied up here?"

"Because I didn't _do it_, you _dimwits_." Carmilla says her voice thick with annoyance.

"You cannot _seriously_ think that we're dumb enough to believe you're innocent just because you say so."

Carmilla rolls her eyes. "Yeah, 'cause that seems like a stretch. Look, if I were really a vampire, would I just stay here, tied up, proclaiming my innocence as some sort of trick?"

Laura shares a look with us before nodding. "Yeah. That's completely, exactly what a vampire would do. We have, like, forty hours of video documentation. Bet you wished you'd watched my project now, huh?"

"Fine. So I'm a vampire. But I couldn't have made off with either of the two cupcakes because I was here with _you_, and then I was here being ambushed by toddlers the whole time."

"Well, maybe you have some kind of…vampiric accomplice!"

"Do I strike you as the type of person who plays well with others?"

"Well, if you weren't snacking on coeds, what were you doing following them around at parties?"

"I'm a popular girl. I get a lot of invitations. Not everybody has to resort to bush league* investigative journalism to get their kicks."

Laura's face scrunches in frustration. "You're a vampire!"

"Yeah, but not a kidnapper!"

"She's got us there. Assuming she's up to something diabolical just because she's-" LaF is interrupted by Laura.

"An undead fiend from the pits of hell?"

"I'm from Eastern Europe." Carmilla says but sighs when she is met by silence. "Potato, potahto."

When someone knocks on the door and begins to open it but Perry and LaFontaine rush over and keep it cracked. "Oh, hey! Yeah, we're actually good for beer shots right now. But thanks for thinking of us." Perry says. "What? Uh, no. We're rehearsing a skit. Uh, yeah, the torture scene from Arsenic and Old Lace. Mhmm. Yeah, there's a torture scene. Want more info? Buy tickets." She closes the door and walks further into the room. "Okay. As much as I appreciate that we have this whole hysterical vampire thing going on, I think it's time that we just deescalate…

"Deescalate?" Laura asks. "She just admitted to being a _vampire_."

"I know. And that's insane. So, maybe she's just insane and instead of holding her here hostage we should take her to student health services. I hear they have a great collection of strait jackets and tranquilizers." Now Perry is the one receiving strange looks. "Well, what other option do we have? Keeping her here tied up, watching her every second? Starving her until she confesses?" At that, Danny and Laura share a look.

* * *

><p>Once that it was decided to proceed with Perry's fluke of an idea, we all took our leave. I walk up to my door, only to see the lei that I gave Mia hanging around the doorknob. I pick it up and look at it in confusion.<p>

I arrive at Mia's dorm and knock on the door. "Mia?" I ask and knock again.

The door opens, revealing an unfamiliar girl. "She doesn't want to talk to you."

"Excuse me?"

"Whoever you, Mia doesn't want to talk to you."

"But I need to explain-"

"She doesn't want to talk to you." She interrupts me.

"What about her lei?"

"There's a reason she gave it back." She says before closing the door in my face.

I stare at the door in shock, pain filling my chest at the thought of my mate rejecting me.


End file.
